Sex, Lies, and Glee
by The Minsk
Summary: Finn and Rachel learn that if you add lying, sex and glee club together, it can be a dangerous mix.
1. The End of Finnocence

DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. They are the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. This is purely for fun. Enjoy! :)

A/N: Can you tell that I loved _The Power of Madonna_? This fic will be more than one chapter, not sure how many, but expect angst! Cause you all know how much The Minsk loves her angst!

* * *

Sex, Lies, and Glee

Chapter One: The End of Finnocence

* * *

He stared at his reflection in the mirror of the motel bathroom; the kinda sketchy one in the shadow of the highway in the bad part of town. If he had it his way, he would be in a much nicer place. Preferably a spacious, well-lit, bedroom painted in pastels with stuffed animals lining the shelves on the walls.

Taking a deep breath, he tried in vain to shake that idea out of his mind. He had to focus on the task at hand. He hadn't shelled out the cash for this room just to sit around and think about how he'd fucked shit up with Rachel. In fact, thinking about Rachel was the very last thing he should be doing before having sex with another girl. She was on a date of her own with Jessie, and he had a sinking feeling that she was on her way to losing her Big-V as well. The thought alone was like a wrecking ball to his heart. He'd lost her in every way possible. He was hoping that having sex with Santana would numb the pain of losing Rachel. He pushed his thoughts of Rachel out of his mind and steeled himself for what he was about to do. He had a hot cheerleader in the next room who was willing to punch his V-card, and he needed to man up before she thought he was gay or something.

He looked at himself in the mirror one last time. Santana's voice carried into the poorly-lit bathroom, wondering where he was, and he stuttered out a response nervously as his heart started to pound fiercely in his chest. This was it. After tonight, he would no longer be a virgin. He said a silent farewell to "Virgin Finn" in the mirror, and walked out of the bathroom.

The room was small, and dark with generic furniture and "No Smoking" signs spread throughout the space. A bright, obtrusive light from the "Motel" sign leaked into their room and bathed the bed in a red glow. A bed had never looked so intimidating.

Lying in a lavender-colored nightie on the unwelcoming neutral fabric of the motel bed, was Santana Lopez. Cheerleader. Popular. Bitchy. Hot. He'd never seen a girl in so little clothes before when they weren't in a bathing suit. Her eyes were smoldering and sexy, and she slid across the comforter to beckon him to the bed.

He was frozen. Terrified. Shitting himself.

His mind was racing so fast he couldn't keep up with what was going on in his head. He couldn't figure out what his brain was telling him, what his heart was telling him, and what his dick was telling him. They all wanted different things. So he closed his eyes and tried to forget that Santana was waiting for him not two feet in front of where he was standing. He took a deep breath, and sorted out the jumble of thoughts in his messed-up head.

His heart was telling him he wanted Rachel, but he knew he couldn't have her. She belonged to someone else now.

His mind was telling him he wasn't ready, that something about this wasn't right.

His dick was telling him to get the hell on that bed and have sex with the hot cheerleader. RIGHT FUCKING NOW.

As always, his dick won the battle.

He walked towards the bed slowly, as if he was a man taking his last steps. When he got to the edge of the bed, he felt Santana's long, sharp nails, almost like claws, dig into his shirt. She pulled him down for a kiss that was meant to be sexy, but ended up sloppy because he was caught off guard from her claws pinching his nipples. Those things were fucking sharp.

She looked him up and down, like he was a piece of meat on display. He felt very self-conscious. She'd been with a bunch of guys before, and he was more virginal than a cat-toy. What if he wasn't good in bed? What if she compared his junk with other guys?

He was so nervous he didn't even realize he wasn't turned on until she started to get grabby. One of her eyebrows arched up in confusion and he grew even more nervous under her questioning gaze. He tried staring at her boobs and thinking about what was about to happen, but nothing was working. So he closed his eyes, and thought about the one thing that never failed to turn him on.

Rachel.

He thought about her olive skin and how it almost looked like Santana's dark Latina skin in the pale lighting of the room. Tenderly, he touched her dark hair and imagined that it was Rachel's. His face fell forward into the dark locks. With his head buried here, he didn't have to see her face; he could just imagine that it was Rachel he was holding close to him.

The girl in his arms started to push him down onto the bed and he let her, giving into his fantasy, and letting her take control.

* * *

She looked at herself in the mirror, soaking in the image of herself in her very best nightie, with a matching capelet that took her forever to find at last year's Renaissance Faire. She looked perfect. She was groomed and polished and her boyfriend was willing and waiting in the next room.

So why couldn't she leave her bathroom? Why couldn't she go and have sex with her handsome, charming boyfriend?

_Because he's not Finn._ The idea was on repeat in her mind, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, it was true. As awkward and uncomfortable as things had been between them lately, she couldn't deny in her heart that she still wanted her first time to be with Finn.

She felt anger pulse through her at her heart's own weakness. Finn was a lost cause. Things were never going to work out between them and she had to accept that before it started to control her life. She had a new man now. Someone who was distinguished and classy and talented and charming. Someone who could do a fox-trot that would make your knees weak. Someone who knew the Sondheim catalog just as well as she did.

But he wasn't Finn.

He'd broken her heart more times than she would like to admit. They had a history with more ups and downs than a roller coaster. But she was in love with him. Head-over-heels, crazy in love with him. She didn't know whether or not it was because he was 6'3 or had eyes as warm as hot cocoa. Whether or not it was his voice or the way he made her feel like her name was already in lights; but she _loved_ that boy.

And it was tearing her apart inside. She was afraid that no one would _ever_ compare to Finn Hudson. And that she would never be ready if it wasn't with him.

But she had to move on. They _both_ had to move on. She could remember the way he'd looked at her while they rehearsed the other day. He'd looked so upset when he found out about Jessie. Then after they rehearsed she'd wanted to kiss him so badly. . .

NO! She had to stop repeating the same patterns with Finn. She might not be ready for sex, but she was ready to move on. First he didn't want her, now he did. This kind of relationship wasn't healthy. They needed to go back to just being friends. It would be better for the both of them.

_Besides_, an angry voice whispered in her mind, _he's out on a date with Santana Lopez right now_. _The girl who had admitted that she'd never said no to sex. Ever._ She had to fight back tears imagining Finn with Santana. They weren't even dating and he was planning on sleeping with her! He might not care about the importance of sex and losing his virginity, but she knew better. She was going to wait.

She looked in the mirror again and nodded her head. She would turn down Jessie, but lie to Finn about it. If he knew that she'd done it with Jessie, maybe he would take the hint that she was trying to get over him. Being around him was weakening her defenses. She hated to lie, especially to him, but she felt like it was the only way to get him to move on.

She opened the door to see her boyfriend, Jessie St. James, waiting expectantly for her, a puzzled look on his handsome face. He was such a gentleman; so dashing, so debonair, so eloquent.

So why couldn't she get Finn Hudson out of her head? Her mind was screaming the answer to her as she lied to Jessie about why she couldn't go through with the dirty deed.

_Because you love him. You'll never get over him. And you'll save yourself for him until the day you die. _

She was afraid that had been the reason.

* * *

Finn definitely didn't feel sexy, that's for sure. Sexy was the last thing he felt at the moment. Right now, he felt like he needed a shower. A hot shower. A hot shower with one of those loofahs that scrubbed your skin until it was red and raw. He needed that kind of shower as soon as he dragged himself home.

The empty containers from Santana's burger littered his passenger seat as he maneuvered through the streets of Lima and back home. When he parked his car in front of his house, he shut off the ignition and let his head fall back against the head-rest of his seat, succumbing to the overwhelming emotions flowing through him.

He wanted to get out of his clothes and burn them. He wanted to shower until every cell on his body was removed and replaced with fresh skin. He felt dirty. And not in a good way. In a filthy way.

He peeled himself off of the seat and lumbered into the house awkwardly, like he was liquid inside of his skin. He didn't feel like himself. He barely threw the junk out of his pockets beofre striping down naked and hopping right into the shower. He put the water up as hot as his skin could tolerate before letting his head fall forward onto the still-cold tile with a thud. The hot steam billowed around him, smothering him in a cloud of heat and vapor as he sunk into his mind and contemplated his feelings.

He felt like shit.

It hadn't helped anything. Having sex hadn't changed a damn thing.

In fact, he was pretty sure he felt worse now than he did before.

It had meant nothing. _Nothing_.

And now he felt nothing.

The water became scalding and he felt like he was melting under the intensity of the heat. He turned the temperature down a bit, but relaxed in the steam of the shower.

After standing under the hot water until his fingers resembled dried fruit, he'd realized a few things about himself.

First, was that he was no longer a virgin. That was a fact, but the funny thing was, he still _felt_ like a virgin. In his heart, he knew he had been wrong to do it with someone he didn't care about. In the real world, he was technically not a virgin, but in his heart he still felt like one.

Second, he would not do it again unless it was with the right person. The person he cared about more than anything. He would wait for her as long as it took.

Third, that person was Rachel. Hands down. He cared about her, no, that wasn't enough. He _loved_ her. And he would wait for her until that Jessie kid was out of the picture.

Fourth, Rachel couldn't know. He didn't care if it made him look prude or dorky, to tell people that he didn't have sex with the loosest Cheerio on the squad, but he didn't care. She could never know about this.

Finally tiring of the hot water, he shut off the shower and grabbed his robe. He laughed mirthlessly as he thought about what he would tell Rachel in school on Monday.

_Hey Rachel, I'm in love with you and realized it only after sleeping with a girl I didn't care about. Now I'm pretending to be a virgin so you don't think I'm a jerk who fools around with any tail that comes my way. Oh by the way, did you lose your virginity to the team's enemy? Because that would suck balls._

He had to work on that.

* * *

Salut mes amis!

A New Story! This one will be quite the angsty fic. Sex, lies and Glee! What a great combo!

Until Next Time. . .*sings* Don't Stop. . . Reviewing!

Merci Mille Fois

The Minsk


	2. Lie To Me

DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. They are the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. This is purely for fun. Enjoy! :)

A/N: Jessie St. James serves as the perfect road-block between Finn and Rachel. I love me some Jon Groff! He is rocking my socks off every week!

So I'm following what happens in the ep until they lie to each other. After that, I'm taking this story in my own direction.

* * *

Sex, Lies, and Glee

Chapter Two: Lie To Me

* * *

_"I know things have been weird between us, but I never thought you'd lie to me."_ No matter how hard she tried to focus on her math quiz, she couldn't get Finn's soft, sad, voice out of her head. She hadn't talked to him since that day, when they rehearsed together and almost burned the choir room down with their chemistry. Maybe her mash-up hadn't been the best idea. But she'd needed to establish a friendship with Finn for the sake of the team. If they couldn't work together as co-captains, then they would never be able to unite the group as a team worthy enough for Regionals.

She hated the thought of lying to him, though. She'd already done it once last week, and it gave her no pleasure to keep secrets from Finn. Especially after she'd promised him that she would always be honest with him. It felt wrong to lie to Finn.

But she had to. For the good of the team, her relationship with Jessie, and her friendship with Finn. She had to lie.

Her focus was brought back to quadratic equations, and she resumed her quiz, dreading the glee rehearsal she would have to suffer through later that day.  
_  
__X equals negative B, plus or minus the square root. . . focus on math, Berry, that will keep your mind off of Finn. . .I wonder if he slept with Santana. . .__  
__  
_Losing focus on her quiz once again, she wondered if he'd gone through with his date on Friday night. Part of her was hoping that he was finally moving on, but another part of her dreaded the thought of Finn and Santana together. If she had to sit and watch him be led around by the leash of another bitchy cheerleader, her head might explode. He deserved better than that.

_He deserves someone who loves him, like I do. . ._

"All right! Quizzes up!" Her teacher Mrs. Dunkirk hollered over the heads of her students and she blanched when she realized that she'd barely completed half the quiz. She tried in vain to finish whatever she could before she heard her name being called impatiently. She sighed as she handed in the quiz. Her normally perfect record was tarnished forever.

She slumped into her seat and laid her head on her desk, waiting for the bell to ring so she could talk to Finn.

And lie to him.

* * *

Finn stood on his tip-toes, the extra height helping him scan the hallways for a certain cheerleader. The cheerleader who took his virginity from him. The one who needed to lie to everyone about it.

No one could know that he and Santana did the nasty on Friday night. He was pretty sure everyone knew about the date by now, good news travels fast in small towns, but he would rather everyone think he was a prude virgin than have Rachel know the truth. He had to make sure Santana kept her mouth shut.

He spotted her by her locker across the hall, talking to Brittany, whispering something into her ear. By the looks of the glint in her eyes, he was sure it was nothing positive.

He walked over to them and pulled Santana away from Brittany by the arm.

"Hey, watch it Cave-Man!"

He ignored her comment and led them to an empty classroom. Letting go of her arm, he whispered as fiercely as possible, "Have you told anyone about Friday?"

"No, not yet."

"Don't. No one can know."

Her eyes shrunk into cat-like slits and her lip turned up in an unattractive scowl, "What the hell do you mean? Everyone knows we went out on Friday night. They're going to think that we did it anyway. And, hello? We _did_."

He shook his head, trying to deny what he knew was true. "It doesn't matter. I don't care if you tell people I pussied out, just don't tell anyone that we had sex."

Crossing her arms over her chest, her scowl grew more pronounced and pure venom seeped into her tone. "Is this about _Rachel_? Are you serious? That's disgusting."

He crossed his own arms over his chest and nodded hard. "Deadly serious. She can't know."

"You know she probably did it with that Jessie kid. I heard they'd had a date on Friday too."

He shook his head again, trying in vain to keep the horrid thoughts of Rachel and Jessie out of his mind. "I don't care. She can't know."

"Fine, have it your way. I won't tell anyone we knocked boots. Happy?" She smirked nastily at him before turning around and leaving the empty classroom. He shoved his hands in his pockets, frustrated, and headed for his next class, dreading the moment he would have to talk to Rachel.

And lie to her.

* * *

He was barely holding it together, he could tell from the way his hands started to shake. He shoved them in his pockets so no one would notice. He felt like all control was slipping away, and he had to remind himself of his surroundings before he started kicking the furniture around the room. It was a monumental test of his self-control that he didn't let the mask of indifference falter when she told him that she was no longer a virgin. He had to pretend that his heart wasn't being torn apart at the thought that she'd had sex with the team's main competition.

It was almost too much to bear. But he swallowed his pain and choked out whatever response he could muster. She seemed so nonchalant about this. It was her virginity for Christ-sakes! It was a big deal! He should know, he'd fucked up his first time and regretted it every second since.

But there was no turning back, now. He'd lost his virginity, and so had she. The only difference was that he was lying about it and claiming to be a virgin.

He barely registered that Rachel had asked him about his own date with Santana. He took a deep breath and tried his hardest to be casual, when inside his guts were churning. The lie spilled from his lips and there was no taking it back. "I'm just waiting for the right person, I guess."

_You. I'm waiting for you, can't you see? It should have been with __**you**__._

He walked away from her after that, his emotions overwhelming him. How could she stand there and be so casual about something that was ripping him apart inside. Gone was the warm, welcoming friend he once relied on more than anything.

He had really lost her.

* * *

She couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Finn had gone out on a date with Santana, the most popular cheerleader in school, and he _didn't_ sleep with her? He was still a virgin too? Suddenly, she felt terrible for lying to Finn about not being a virgin. She looked over at him in his seat, waiting for rehearsal to start, his head in his hands as he sat next to Artie. He looked upset. She felt a fierce need to go and console him, to tell him the truth.

Just as she moved to talk to him, Mr. Schuester entered the room with no other than her boyfriend, Jessie. To say she was surprised was an understatement. She was floored. The team noticed the stranger in their midsts and sat in shock when Mr. Schuester explained he would be the newest member of New Directions.

The team was not happy.

They were downright _pissed_.

She looked over at Finn from where she was sitting, to gauge his reaction to the news. He was only two seats away from her, but it felt like an entire universe was in-between them. His face held a grimace she'd rarely seen on his handsome face, and his fists were clenched in his lap.

Her head snapped around when Jessie began to explain his reasons for transferring to Lima. She couldn't help but feel happy that her boyfriend had transfered schools and quit his championship team just for her. In fact, she was more than happy, she was ecstatic. She had a man who cared about her more than a fourth consecutive National Show Choir Championship. Someone who was now a part of their team.

So why did Finn's distraught face haunt her for the rest of the day?

* * *

"Um, Jessie?" Rachel blushed when her boyfriend turned his attention toward her, and started to stroke her cheek tenderly with his thumb. Normally she was against PDA in any form, but here at school it was nice to be close to someone who'd never thrown a slushie at her.

"Yes, Rachel?" He was so handsome, so charming. . .

"I have something I need to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Remember how I said I wasn't ready to sleep with you yet, because of the team and stuff." He nodded his head, remembering the conversation clearly. He started to get a hopeful look in his eyes, and she realized that she was sending him the wrong message. "I need you to tell people that we did." The hopeful look melted away in an instant and a deep frown settled into his face.

"What do you mean? Why?"

She blanched. Should she tell him about Finn? Explain to him the damage that he'd done to her heart, the damage that he still continued to do, even after breaking up? How she'd been saving herself for only Finn before he'd come along? How she was hoping that he would finally move on so she could move on?

"I want people to start respecting me for the young, independent woman that I am. It will be good for our image as a couple." For the second time that day, she lied to a boy who cared about her. Since when did lying come so easily for her? She never thought she was capable of such deceit.

Jesse shrugged and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before gathering his things and getting ready for his first class at McKinely. "Well, if that's what you want. If people ask, that's what I'll tell them." He waved to her a final time before heading off to his class. She smiled and waved him goodbye. All of a sudden, not even before he could turn the corner in the hallway, she felt a hand on her shoulder, spinning her around unceremoniously and disorientating her.

It was Finn.

And he did not look happy. At all.

"Rachel, what the _hell_ is going on?"

She trembled under the severity of his glare. He never looked this angry, not since the day he found out the truth about Quinn. Taking deep breaths, she readied herself for the backlash of Jessie's transfer. "Jessie transferred schools for me. He obviously cares about me very much." Her heart clenched at the pained look on his face.

"And? Did he have to take all the lead solos too?"

"He happens to have an amazing voice if I do say so myself. A voice that won three consecutive national titles. He'll help us win, Finn. It's for the good of the team."

"I don't think it _is_ for the good of the team, Rachel. What happens if he's a spy? Huh? What happens if he's been playing you all along?"

Her frustrations started to get the best of her, and she whispered spitefully, "Well then I guess I've been sleeping with the enemy."

He looked like he'd been punched in the face. He nodded slowly, and moved forward to trap her back against the lockers. He placed both hands around her head, trapping her in a human cage. The look he was giving her was so intense, her face burned in a deep blush under the weight of his stare. He leaned in so close to her face, that she could feel his soft breath tickling her lips. She took a short, shallow breath, parting her lips in surprise when his cheek brushed against her own, softly, gently. She'd kissed three guys in her life, one of them currently inches away from her mouth, but nothing had been as intimate as that one soft caress.

His cheek pressed against hers as he whispered softly into her ear, creating a trail of goosebumps down her neck and arms. "He better take care of you. You hear me? I'll kill him if he hurts you. If he took your virginity in vain."

"Finn. . ."

Before she could even create a coherent response in her head, he swiftly kissed her on the cheek, turned on his heel and practically ran away from her. She was so shocked at the sudden intimate contact and loss thereof, it took her a second to realize what had just happened. Her heart pounded ferociously at Finn's gentle and honest words. She walked towards her next class in a daze, her heart beat still erratic and fluttering.

There was a time she would have killed to have one boy remember her name. Now she had two boys who wanted to date her at the same time.

Compared to now, those were the good times.

* * *

Salut Mes Amis!

From now on, the story is going to branch off into DRAMA territory! The lies are building, and the sex is on it's way!

Until Next Time. . .*Sings* Don't Stop. . .Reviewing!

Merci Mille Fois

The Minsk


	3. The Game

DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. They are the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. This is purely for fun. Enjoy! :)

A/N: The beginning of this chapter will be the last reference to _The Power of Madonna_ for this story. The rest is all Minsk territory, branching off from the storyline and going into no-man's land.

And what I have planned is going to blow your mind. ;)

PS: Yes, I know, two updates in one day. The Minsk had a bunch of time on her hands today, and an idea that wouldn't go away. Don't get used to it, though. This is a rarity! :P

* * *

Sex, Lies, and Glee

Chapter Three: The Game

* * *

All Rachel could do was stare, helpless, at the boys who held her heart so precariously between the two. Finn was offering his peace to Jessie, after apologizing for his behavior in the hallway yesterday. She never thought she would ever see Finn and Jessie act so civil, especially after how furious he'd been throughout glee rehearsal and his conversation with her. The fact that he'd apologized to her to sincerely, warmed her heart to no end. Maybe he was finally moving on.

Why didn't that make her as happy as she'd hoped it would?

But then, he'd said something else during his apology. He took the blame for their break-up, and he said he'd liked her. Honestly, truly, the words came from his lips. An actual confession of his feelings. She'd had so much more to ask him, so much more she wanted to say, but Jessie had interrupted them. He knew a little bit about their rough history, and he looked jealous that she'd been talking to Finn. She panicked at the thought that the two boys would become rivals for her affection. An image of Finn and Jessie in medieval clothing, drawing sabers at dawn while she cried in the distance, flashed in her mind as her heart sunk in her chest. But Finn had surprised her with his peace offering. And what he said next, shook her world to the core and tore her heart completely in half.

"I'll try to stay away from your girl."

_No! I'm __**your**__ girl. I've always been your girl. . ._ But she couldn't say it out loud. And she knew that she was seeing someone else, but she couldn't deny the sharp sting of the truth. She still had massive feelings for Finn. Now more than ever. What was worse was that her feelings for Jessie were still there too.

She hadn't moved on at all. Instead, she'd just allowed someone _else_ into her heart. And now it felt a bit crowded in there.

She was mute when the two boys walked off together toward the auditorium, discussing the plans for the group number they were to rehearse that afternoon. She hoped deep down that the two boys could be friends, that Finn and Jessie possessed the maturity to function as team-mates and colleagues, and not let something as petty as a girl get in-between them and a regional championship.

Standing there, with her heart torn in two but still beating strongly, she thought about speaking to Rabbi Greenberg about the possibility of miracles.

* * *

Finn walked down the hallway tensely, keeping in stride with the one person he loathed more than anyone else in the world. He said he'd wanted to talk to him about the number he put together, and he'd had every intention of doing so. But the silence between them stretched out thickly, and he could feel the tension between them without even saying a word.

It was Jessie who'd decided to break the silence.

"So, how much of what you said before was true, and how much of it was bullshit you said to look good in front of Rachel?" He stopped walking altogether, clenching his fists at his sides and taking deep, steady breaths to calm his flaring anger.

The sarcasm was thick in his voice and he glared daggers at the guy who was invading everything that he'd ever called his. "The part about you, was mostly bullshit. But she can't know about that, now, can she?" He'd been telling so many lies lately, it was good to finally tell someone the truth. He had no intentions at all of staying away from Rachel, he'd just said it for show.

Jessie raised his eyebrows and smirked. "I guess not." He gave Finn a good once over and his smirk turned into a deep frown. "She's _my_ girlfriend."

"She was mine first." He answered without hesitation.

"And why aren't you two together anymore? That's right, you _broke up_ with her."

"I want her back. I won't stop."

All of a sudden, Jessie's calm face hardened into a look of pure hatred. He stepped closer to Finn as he invaded his personal space, and Finn's hackles rose as he went on the defensive. "You know I fucked her, right?" His blood was like ice in his veins. He felt all control slipping away, and he did nothing to stem the flow of hatred. "She was so innocent it was delicious. And her body? It was like _heaven_."

Something inside of him snapped at his last comment, and he pushed Jessie with all of his strength until his back was against the lockers, and landed a hard punch to the one closest to his face. The entire row of lockers shook from the force of the impact. It felt like all the nerves in his hand were screaming with agony, but he focused on the pain instead of the desire to punch him in the face this time. Images of Rachel and Jessie flashed in his head and he had to suppress an anguished sob at both the pain in his hand and the pain in his heart. He looked up at Jessie and his stunt had created the desired effect; Jessie's eyes were wide open in shock and he could feel him pushing against Finn's body in retaliation. But being taller than Jessie, Finn had the upper hand.

"Don't you _ever_ talk about Rachel like that! Just because Mr. Schue welcomed you into the group with open arms, doesn't mean I trust you for a damn second. If I find out that you are using Rachel in any way, I will _end_ you. Understand?"

Jessie looked like he wanted to spit in Finn's face, but he nodded hard and replied, "Yeah, I understand. Now get the fuck off of me." Finn took a few steps back and let Jessie adjust himself before letting the awkward silence fill the hallway again. "You love her, don't you?"

He nodded, admitting to Jessie that he was in love with his girlfriend. "Yes."

"I do too."

He scoffed bitterly. "Yeah fucking right, you barely know her."

"I know enough. And I told you before, she's a keeper."

"She's not a prize to be won!"

Jessie got a manic glint in his eyes, and glared at Finn suspiciously. "So how about that Madonna number?"

Finn raised an eyebrow in confusion and scowled deeply. That was a quick change of subject. "What?"

"We've got to run down that number, buddy." He shot Jessie another incredulous look and the older boy smiled. "This is how it's got to be, Hudson. _The game_. As far as New Directions and Rachel are concerned, we're gonna be good pals. But on our own time, it's all about the race for the prize."

"You can't be serious!" He'd just learned what "objectification" meant, he was not about to turn Rachel into a stuffed animal at the boardwalk. "You can't do that to her."

"Well, obviously, you're not going to give up. Someone has to be the one to win her over. Right now, I think I'm in the lead, seeing as I'm her boyfriend and all. And you've had more than enough time and opportunities to score points with her." Finn was practically seeing red and he clenched his fists, wanting to punch Jessie again for real this time. "Do you want me to tell her that you're lying to her about being friendly to me? That you have no intentions of staying away from her at all? That you love her and want to steal her away from me?" He couldn't deny the truth of his statements, as vicious as they were, and he turned his head, ashamed of the truth. "That is what you want, isn't it? I'll give you your chance. But you'll have heavy competition in me. I guarantee it."

Crossing his arms over his chest, he felt like he was the one backed into the corner now. Fine, if Jessie wanted to play that game with him, it was his choice. He would be the guy's friend for show, but he could hate him as much as he wanted behind closed doors.

But he would not treat Rachel like a prize at the fair. Rachel's heart wasn't a game. She would chose the guy she liked on her own terms. He couldn't risk pushing her away, he needed to get her back the right way.

By proving to her that he was the better man. That he loved her regardless of the lies and the deceit. But now he felt like he was being blackmailed by his rival into playing with Rachel's heart.

For the second time that day, he offered Jessie his hand, agreeing to a game where he feared no one would be the winner.

* * *

After rehearsal, Rachel lingered around the auditorium, waiting for Jessie so she could escape from the tension and drama of rehearsal. They might have looked polished and professional on stage, but behind the curtains, the group was a mess.

No one had been very welcoming to Jessie, who'd learned the choreography three times faster than most of the other kids and sat around correcting others on their technique the entire time. He payed special attention to criticizing Finn's dancing, and Rachel winced at the memory of Finn's face when Jessie said he had the grace of an ox.

Finn had also acted more than a little weird at rehearsal. Because he was the one to arrange the song, he'd been nit-picking every detail of the stage, a trait that was very un-Finn-like. It had been an afternoon full of chaos, critiquing and choreography. The fatigue was overwhelming.

Her conflicted emotions were doing serious damage to her mental state. One second she wanted to console Finn, and reassure him that the flowers looked perfect in their positions surrounding the stage. The next second she wanted to be close to Jessie, who told her she had impeccable timing and the grace of a ballerina. She didn't know what to feel anymore.

So much for moving on.

She should have just waited for Jessie in the hallway, but she felt it was necessary to at least compliment Finn on a job well done with the number. While Jessie was changing out of his costume, she walked over to Finn who was shaking hands with the head of the Baptist choir who agreed to sing with them during the rehearsal. He'd been taking his co-captain duties very seriously lately, and she had to commend him for it. He startled when he noticed her waiting for him, and he smiled timidly as she approached him. Her heart started beating in her chest like a hummingbird's, frantic and fluttering. She shouldn't be talking to him, but she felt a thrill at the thought that she was doing something that would make her boyfriend angry, and possibly jealous.

"Hey." His soft voice disarmed her as they made eye contact. She started to lose herself in his warm gaze, and she barely remembered why she'd come over to talk to him in the first place.

"You did a great job with the arrangement of the song, Finn. You're getting so much better at music theory. Your harmonies were beautiful."

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, blushing at her praise. "Thanks, Rach. It's good to hear that, especially coming from you. You know, your opinion counts more than anyone else's."

"Really?" Most people would probably rather eat sand than listen to her opinion on _anything_.

"Yeah. You're always right, so I know that if I do something you like, it has to be good." Her heart swelled at the genuine honesty in his tone and she'd forgotten how sweet and simple he could be. "I'm glad you liked it."

"I really did." They stood together in silence, but it wasn't filled with the awkward tension that had been plaguing them for the past few weeks. This was comfortable, companionable, normal. They shared a knowing smile, understanding the importance of the moment. This was the way things used to be between them, when it had just been Finn and Rachel. No Jessie, no Santana. This was their friendship at it's purest. A simple understanding of the other. While their eyes were still locked, she barely noticed when he reached out to tenderly hold her hand. His fingers laced in hers as she smoldered under the heat of his stare. He leaned closer to her, and she wanted so badly to close the gap between them and kiss him.

"Rachel? You ready?" Jessie came backstage in his street clothes, looking for her, and noticed the close proximity between her and Finn. She quickly let go of his hand, hoping Jessie hadn't seen the intimate contact. "What's going on here?"

"I was just letting Finn know how much I enjoyed his arrangement of the song. What did you think, Jessie?"

Jessie came up to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, bringing her as close to him as possible. He smiled brightly at her, and Finn as well, and she felt some of the tension ease out of her at his friendly gesture. "I thought it could use a bit of work, but it was an admirable effort."

Finn's responding smile looked a little forced, but he nodded and said "Thanks," before turning around and leaving without another word to either Rachel or Jessie. His sudden departure left her heart aching. A few moments ago she had been so peaceful, now she was filled with conflict yet again.

She followed Jessie out of the school and to his car so he could drive her home. He looked angry, and he made no move to talk to her until they were both seated in his car.

"Why did you want me to tell people that we'd had sex?" The question was so abrupt, she couldn't think of a proper response. She started to panic when she realized she would have to lie, again.

"I told you, I want people to think that we're a serious couple."

"You want _people_ to think we're serious, or you want _Finn_ to think we're serious?" Her silence served as the answer. It stretched throughout the car and filled up every square inch with awkwardness. "You like him, don't you?"

What should she say? Honesty was always the best policy, wasn't that the motto she'd grown up with? But she'd been lying so much lately, another one just spewed out of her mouth without preamble. "No. I had a thing for him, once, but I'm over him. Totally. I wanted him to think we did it so he could move on. I want him to find another girl so he could leave me alone." She felt completely detached while saying these words; it was like a betrayal to everything her heart had ever told her. She smiled at him as best as she could while she was lying through her teeth. "I'm really happy you transferred here."

Finally, a soft smile broke out on his handsome face and he started the car, leaning over to place the smallest of kisses on her forehead. "Me too."

She was getting too good at this lying thing.

* * *

Salut mes amis!

Oh I am on a roll baby! The drama is gonna get cranked up to eleven.

Until Next Time. . .*sings* Don't Stop. . .Reviewing!

Merci Mille Fois

The Minsk


	4. The War for Rachel

DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. They are the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. This is purely for fun. Enjoy! :)

A/N: Two gorgeous boys who can sing their asses off are in the chase for a certain stunning young ingénue. Let the battle commence!

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Sex, Lies, and Glee

Chapter Four: The War for Rachel

* * *

"Well, hello, _Fintimate_. Long time no see." If he'd had it his way, Finn would never have to see Santana's face again. It only brought up bad memories of the night he'd lost his virginity, something he'd spent the last two weeks busting his ass trying to cover up and repress.

He looked around to make sure no one had heard her, and whispered viciously, "Shh! Not here, are you crazy?"

"I need to talk to you. In private."

Crossing his arms over his chest, he knew she couldn't be trusted. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Oh really? Then I have something I'd like to say to Rachel. . . ."

Panicking, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into an empty hallway. Making sure no one was in earshot, he turned around to face the sassy Latina who'd deflowered him two weeks ago. "What do you want?"

"You and I are going to start dating." It wasn't a request. It was a demand. An order. Words failed him at the moment. Out of all the things he'd ever expected to hear from her mouth, becoming her boyfriend was never one of them.

"What?" Incredulous couldn't even begin to describe what he was feeling, he could've been knocked over with a feather. "We can't stand each other. Why the hell would I want to be your boyfriend?"

Smirking nastily, she arched her eyebrows and moved closer to him. "Because you don't want Rachel to know about us. You didn't think I would keep the secret for you and not want something in return, did you? How _cute_."

"But I don't understand. You told me I was dumber than sand and I know for a fact you have no feelings for me at all."

"I have my reasons." Her cold, calculating stare left him dumbfounded at her logic and reasoning. What did she have to gain from dating him? Why blackmail him into becoming her boyfriend? "You wouldn't understand the intricacies of my level of popularity, but I need to have a boyfriend right now. Besides, the Spring Fling is coming up this weekend, and I need to have a date. I'm on the ballot for May Queen and I can't mess it up by being single." Great, a dance. He hated dances. Quinn used to drag him to dances all the time and force him to stand around awkwardly in uncomfortable clothing. The whole Jesse-Rachel issue had been the only thing on his mind for weeks; there wasn't enough room in his head to remember something as trivial as a dance.

"I'll go with you to the dance thingy, but do I have to actually date you? One cheerleader girlfriend was enough to last me a lifetime."

"Deal with it, Finn. As long as you want Rachel to think you're still a virgin, you have to play by my rules. And I say, from now on, we are a couple. See you later, _sweetie_." Her face puckered into a nasty scowl, she turned on her heel and strutted away, leaving Finn flabbergasted and fidgeting in her wake. With great dread, he realized he'd have to rent a tux. What had he done to deserve this torture?

It was bad enough Rachel hadn't talked to him in days. How could she, when her boyfriend was constantly trailing her like a hawk, hovering around her and controlling everything she did. He had to sit by and be a bystander to Jessie's overwhelming possessiveness of Rachel. He walked her to and from every class, and sat with her at lunch and glee rehearsal. He drove her to and from school every morning, and even attended the captains' meetings they had with Mr. Schuester every week. He couldn't find a single minute to be alone with her. He hadn't said more than "Hey/Bye" to her in days.

Finn knew what Jessie was doing. He was on the defensive; the two of them deep into their "game" for Rachel's affections. By keeping Rachel at his side, constantly hovering and observing, he was limiting the time and opportunities that Finn had to spend time with Rachel and get back into her good graces. It all seemed so friendly, so civil on the outside, until you realized what the motives and emotions really were behind the scenes. It was an all-out war for Rachel.

Jessie was playing the game like a pro. His defense was nearly air-tight. Finn needed to attack; to go on the offensive, and come on strong. He needed to get some serious alone time with Rachel. Find a time when they could escape the leech known as Jessie St. James and reconnect with each other. He missed Rachel so much.

And now he had a girlfriend to deal with. Another bitchy cheerleading girlfriend; he was starting to think he'd done something terrible in a past life and the gods were out to punish him. He was being blackmailed by two different people about two different lies that had the potential to ruin any chance he ever had with Rachel. He could barely believe it.

Since when did his life resemble the chick-flicks his mom watched?

* * *

Rachel smiled as Jessie talked animately about his winning performance at last year's National Show Choir Championships when a large, vibrant poster caught her eye by her locker. Her attention was diverted when she realized that the Spring dance was happening this weekend, and she'd been completely unaware. This was the first time she'd ever had a boyfriend during a social event at school, and she'd always dreamed of the day she could attend one with a handsome suitor; one who'd make her feel like the princess at the ball.

So why was she suddenly crippled with anxiety? She hadn't even known about it; her world had been wrapped around Jesse since the day he transfered to WMHS, and she hadn't even realized it was coming up. She stared at Jessie as he gushed about the amazing choreography of handstands and cartwheels that had been a spectacle that the show choir world had gushed about for months afterwards. He noticed the distracted look on her face, and his brow knitted in worry.

"Rachel, what's wrong?"

Biting her lip, she questioned him, timidly, "Did you know there was a dance this weekend?"

He frowned slightly, turning around and reading the poster for the event. "I've gone to this school for barely two weeks, aren't you supposed to know this stuff?"

She laughed nervously, feeling awkward. "I don't know, I guess I forgot."

"Do you want to go?"

"Yeah, I do." A small smile creeped onto her face at the thought of attending a dance with a real date. She'd gone to a few dances before, joining the ranks of the girls who'd gone solo, sitting in the bleachers during the slow dances. She'd stopped going to them after joining glee and falling for Finn. She couldn't stand going and seeing him with Quinn while she'd been alone, so she stopped going to them altogether. But now, she had Jesse. Maybe she could ask some other glee kids to go with them? Even rent a limo like all the other popular kids did! She was suddenly filled with great excitement for the event. Something she could share with everyone. "Do you think we can get a tux for you in less than a week? We can get a bunch of the glee kids to come with us and all go together! Maybe rent a limo and make a big thing out of it! We'll ask Tina, Artie would have to get a ride, but there's also Mercedes, Kurt, Finn. ."

She was cut off by a cold and vicious "NO!" escaping the furious lips of her boyfriend. His expression and demeanor caught her off-guard; he was normally so gentle, and now he was tense and defensive.

"What?" She was sure the hurt was more than visible on her face. He'd _scared_ her.

He shook his head, relaxing his stance, as the anger completely melted away into his trademark smile. "I just meant, that we should make this a special night. A night that's all about us. I want to escort my date personally to the dance. And then afterwards, we can go somewhere private. Maybe see if you're ready to take the next step like we'd discussed."

She tensed visibly at his response, not feeling consoled like she hoped she'd be. She felt very pressured at the moment. His answer did nothing to quell the panic that his initial response had awakened in her. He'd been so furious in that one instant, then to start on about the sex-issue again. . . it raised her hackles and put her on edge. He'd promised that he'd wait for her. . .

What was worse was that he always acted annoyed like this whenever she brought up Finn. In fact, she was pretty sure he was trying to keep her away from Finn; they'd had more than a few conversations about her feelings for him, like he was suspicious of her.

The truth was that he had reason to be. She was still not over Finn yet. She missed him so much it was scary. They spent hours together every week, but it felt like they were miles apart. Even when they were arranging songs and working for glee, it was all business between them. Jessie had been following her around constantly since he transferred here, and she couldn't get a second alone with Finn at all. She didn't want to make Jessie angry or jealous, and Finn seemed friendly enough, but she could tell he was hurting from the loss of their friendship. The connection they'd always shared was barely there anymore. She often caught him staring at her; unabashed, blatant staring. Looks of longing that left her heart feeling battered.

She stared right back.

"Um, I don't know. We'll see." Was the only response she could muster. He frowned, but gone was the tense demeanor of before. However, he still wasn't done.

"I don't get it Rachel, you said that sleeping with me would be a betrayal to the team. Now I'm on the team, there's no more betrayal. What are you waiting for?"

Feeling overwhelmed by all the issues of sex, the dance, and her torn, indecisive heart, she snapped. "I'm just not ready, okay! Stop pressuring me or else it's never going to happen." She slammed her locker shut and turned to walk to class. When Jessie moved to follow her, she turned around and stuck a finger in his boyishly handsome face. "Don't you follow me! I'll see you after class."

She stomped away from him and headed toward Spanish, happy to be away from Jessie in school for the first time since he'd transferred here. She loved the attention, but sometimes he could be so clingy! She was an independent woman and needed her space!

She beamed when she saw Finn heading down the hall towards Spanish as well. Jessie was nowhere around, and she realized how much she'd missed him. All six-feet-three-inches of him.

"Finn!" She couldn't hide the exuberance in her tone, or the way he'd jumped in surprise when he saw her bouncing towards him. She giggled when she realized she was practically skipping. She felt free without Jessie around. Liberated.

"Rachel!" His smile lit up his face and she caught him looking around, probably to see if Jessie was anywhere in sight. He relaxed when he realized she was alone. "Where's Jessie? You two have been attached at the hip recently."

Placing her hands on her hips, she huffed at the thought of her boyfriend's previous behavior. "I exerted my independence as a free-thinking woman and told Jessie not to follow me to class. Sometimes too much of a good thing can be--"

"A bad thing?" Finn finished for her as they shared a smile. A secret smile. A _knowing_ smile.

"Yeah." She could feel the hotness of a blush spread across her cheeks under his gaze. "I feel like he's been super clingy lately. I'm glad he likes me, but I needed some space."

Finn nodded, giving her the lopsided smile that melted her heart while they continued to walk to class. "Well, I'm glad we have this chance to talk. Things have been--"

"Crazy?" How was it that they could be so in sync when they hadn't talked in ages? Being with Finn was so comfortable it was effortless.

"Yeah. Exactly." She'd missed this. She'd missed him. He hadn't looked this content in a long while, and she could feel the connection between them that she thought had been lost. The easy friendship, the complete understanding of the other. With a smile she hoped it would never go away. In fact, she thought it was stronger now more than ever when he suddenly voiced the one thing that had just been on her mind. "I missed this." She didn't have to say anything, she knew exactly what he'd meant. "I mean, I know you have a boyfriend and everything, but it doesn't mean we can't be friends."

She nodded sadly, agreeing with him. But Jessie was so overprotective when it came to Finn. He had reason to be. Her heart could not be trusted around Finn Hudson.

But she _did_ miss him. More than anything. And no boy was going to control what she did or what friends she had. Her inner feminist wouldn't allow it.

Right before entering the classroom, she paused as she noticed Ms. Hoffmeyer entering Mr. Schuester's room with his class roster. Which only meant one thing.

Mr. Schue was absent today. They had a substitute.

Feeling bolder and more reckless than she'd ever felt before in her young life, she grabbed Finn's hand and quickly stated to pull him in the opposite direction, away from their classroom. Finn put up no resistance, he just started to laugh at Rachel dragging him through the halls.

"Rachel? What's up?"

"I have an idea."

* * *

Standing in the playground of the elementary school not far from WMHS, Finn couldn't wrap his head around how he'd ended up with Rachel on the jungle gym, skipping class and ditching last period. He had a real chance to connect to her today, to show her how much he still cared about her. He would not fuck up his chance while Jessie wasn't around.

He laughed as he watched Rachel hopping from section to section, climbing up the ropes and sliding down the slides, tapping into her inner child. He laughed at her playful antics, and followed her around from the ground. He couldn't really use the slides cause he was too big, but she was having fun.

"I'm glad to see that the independent woman can still tap into her inner child."

"Who do you think you're talking to? I own every Wiggles DVD known to man."

"That's nothing to brag about, Rach."

"The Wiggles are good, wholesome entertainment."

He laughed as she went onto the monkey bars; she was so short her legs swung freely as she passed from bar-to-bar. The thing was maybe six inches taller than he was; he could barely do pull-ups on it, but she was having fun. Suddenly, as Rachel was swinging by him again, her grip on the bar slipped, and she started to fall towards the hard concrete in another one of her short skirts, exposing her legs to the possibility of injury. Without hesitation, he reached forward and grabbed her while she was falling. Wrapping his arms around her, he tucked her close into his chest as he gripped her body haphazardly in his arms, cushioning her fall. Her skirt flew up and was tangled in their limbs, exposing the empty playground to her white panties. They were both breathing heavily from the scare and the exertion of energy, and Rachel stared up at Finn in wonder as he smoothed out her skirt and cupped her rear, readjusting her weight and supporting her intimately into his chest. Their eyes were locked together, and her proximity was causing serious damage to his self-control.

"You caught me." Her simple, shocked statement brought him back to reality as he moved to put her down. She wouldn't let go. "No." Her soft answer shook his defenses and he gave in, leaning his head down and catching her lips in a soft, needy kiss. Her lips parted as she sighed, and he held her as tight to him as possible while his tongue explored her mouth. She made no move to stop him. So he kissed her until he was out of breath. He kissed her like he would never kiss her again. Pouring every ounce of love for her as he could, he kissed her until she was slipping out of his unstable grasp again. Finally putting her down, he pulled away from her as she straightened out her clothes. He didn't know what to do or say that wouldn't make the situation awkward, so he just held out his hand so they could walk back to school. She still had to meet Jessie.

She took his hand and he knew that they were back to their old dynamic. They still had that spark, that connection that he'd never felt with anyone before. Walking to school, hand in hand, he felt like he'd won the battle today.

But just as they were walking back onto campus, he groaned audibly when he saw Santana walking towards them, a malicious smile on her face. Nothing good could come from a look that evil.

"Get your paws off of my boyfriend, Lassie. You've got your own man to sniff." Finn froze, forgetting that horrid piece of information during his blissful time with Rachel. She looked like she'd been slapped in the face.

"What?" Rachel dropped Finn's hand just as quickly as his heart had dropped into his knees. He could feel Rachel pulling further away from him by the second and he was powerless to do anything to stop it.

"We're totes dating now Berry, didn't you know? We're even going to Spring Fling together." The acid in her tone was burning Finn to the core, and he started to panic. "Right, Finn?"

Oh God, this was not happening. Not now. Not when he'd just reconnected with her. But if he didn't agree with Santana, she would spill the truth about them having sex. He turned to Rachel, anguished at the pained look on her face and solemnly lied to her again.

"Um, yeah."

She nodded firmly at his response, a twitch in her upper lip the only sign of conflict on her face. Before he could even try to explain anything, he noticed Jessie walk up to the three of them. Santana slithered next to Finn, slipping an arm around his as Rachel was pulled to Jessie's side.

"Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you."

Rachel took one look at Finn and schooled her features, turning to Jessie with a smile. "Just getting some fresh air."

"Well, I wanted to apologize for before. I would be more than honored to escort you to the dance, and we'll do everything on your terms." Finn could only watch, helpless, as Jessie leaned forward and kissed the lips that he'd been kissing not even ten minutes ago. With Santana wrapped around him, and Rachel and Jessie right in front of him, the pressure in his heart was overwhelming. He felt like it would burst.

He was going to have to pull out the big guns to win this war.

* * *

Salut mes amis!

Just when Finn thinks he'd getting the upper hand, his lies catch up to him! DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA!

Until Next Time *sings* Don't Stop. . .Reviewing!

Merci Mille Fois

The Minsk


	5. Progress

DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. They are the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. This is purely for fun. Enjoy! :)

A/N: Sorry for the wait my dears! I've gotten some comments about the way I spell Jesse's name. I used to spell it Jesse in my old stories (Hey Jealousy, Family Ties, Just Friends) but then I'd heard they were spelling it differently, so I changed it to Jessie. Now people are telling me I was right the first time, so it's going back to Jesse. Any issues, take it up with RM.

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Sex, Lies, and Glee

Chapter Five: Progress

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The days passed slowly during that excruciatingly long week before the dance. Finn could still remember the way that Rachel and Jesse had walked away from him and Santana the other day, their arms wrapped around the other's waists, all laughs and smiles. It made him sick to think that a few minutes before that he'd had Rachel in his own arms, holding her as close to him as would allow, not wanting to let go. It was like he could feel the conflict in her kiss, but she'd never let go of him, never released her grasp in his arms.

Now she was barely talking to him. If it didn't have anything to do with glee club, she wanted nothing to do with him.

It wasn't his fault that Santana was currently blackmailing him into being her boyfriend. It wasn't like he was open to the idea of having the most dominating Cheerio on the squad boss him around constantly about the stupid dance he was being forced to attend. He was starting to think that his relationship with Rachel was doomed; now matter how close they got, no matter how much progress he thought was being made, it never was enough. Something always got in the way.

He was seriously contemplating telling Rachel the truth now. To hell with the secrets anymore, he was tired of the game that Jesse and him were playing. Rachel seemed more upset that he was dating Santana than she did when he'd been dating Quinn! He'd been lying to protect Rachel from the truth, but now, the truth seemed a hell of a lot better than this. It already seemed like Jesse had won, there was no point in hiding anymore.

But part of him was still scared shitless that Rachel would freak out if she knew that he'd slept with Santana. He had a sinking feeling that it would be the last straw for her; that he would lose her forever to Jesse and he'd never have a chance with her again. It was enough to keep his mouth shut, but he wasn't sure of how much more he would be able to take.

He frowned as he scanned the racks of the only decent formal wear store in Lima. It was kind of expensive, but it was in town, and they had a pretty decent choice of suits here. He hated renting a tux. A man came up to him and took his measurements, picking out pieces to match the suit. He just stood around, nodding his head whenever the man brought him another vest or cummerbund to try out.

"Alright son, just go to the changing rooms and try it all on. Last door on the left." The man pointed Finn in the direction of the changing rooms. Carrying the pants, jacket, vest, shirt and the other accessories, he entered the changing rooms and started to remove his clothes. Just before he was about to remove his shirt, he stopped breathing altogether when he heard a terribly familiar voice wafting through the tiny formal wear store.

"Well, I didn't like the dresses they had there, and we can get your tux here, too!" The bright, energetic voice of Rachel Berry flowed through the shop, and his heart started to hammer in his chest.

_She's here! She's with the douche-bag, but she's here! Thank God Santana didn't come with me!_ He stood in his underwear and a t-shirt in the middle of his changing room with his ear pressed against the door, waiting to hear her voice again. He never would have imagined Rachel to be someone to leave things for the last minute; the dance was tomorrow and it was bad enough he had to piece together a suit tonight. Didn't girls normally make big deals out of this stuff? But he wasn't trying to tempt fate; all that mattered was that she was here, and he had to find the opportunity to talk to her, to explain himself.

To finally tell her the truth.

He no longer heard her voice, but he stood with his face pressed against the door, his tux forgotten, waiting to hear her again. After a few minutes he felt panic seize in his chest when he realized she was heading for the dressing rooms as well.

"Jesse, keep looking for a plain, black, jacket; we can do themed outfits next time!" He could hear the pattering of her feet down the aisle, and he heard plastic dragging along the floor. A door right outside of his opened and closed, and he stood in his little changing room, completely dumbstruck.

Rachel was right across the aisle from him in her own dressing room.

Alone.

Possibly without clothes on.

He was still standing in his t-shirt, socks and boxers and could feel the heat in his body rushing below the belt. He could just imagine her right now, slipping off the long argyle socks she'd worn to school today over her sleek, toned calves. He could imagine her unzipping her paisley skirt, and letting it slip to the ground as she tried on whatever gown she'd picked out. He could imagine the silky material sliding over her skin.

He felt like a stranger had taken over his body when he opened the door and stepped out of the dressing room in his underwear, his erection painfully apparent. He walked across the hallway and stopped outside of her dressing room; he could tell it was hers because he'd heard some light humming inside and he would know her voice anywhere. He raised a hand to knock; he wanted to see her so badly.

Dropping his hand, he let his head fall in shame. It had finally happened; he'd gone off the deep end. He'd become some creepy stalker, listening to her voice, creeping outside of her dressing room. This was plain unhealthy.

But as he turned around to go back into his stall and finish trying on his tux, her door swung open. He was suddenly face to face with Rachel Berry, her eyes wide open in shock and holding her strapless gown haphazardly to her chest.

"Finn?!"

He rubbed the back of his neck bashfully with one hand while he waved with the other, "Uh, hey, Rach."

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_Just keep smiling, Berry. Just keep smiling_. She didn't care if she'd said it about 500 times since the beginning of the week, she forced herself to look happy as she and Jesse walked around the small formal wear store in town. They'd been all over the area looking for the perfect gown for Rachel, but she hadn't been able to find anything that she truly liked. Poor Jesse had been dragged to every store in Lima practically, focusing on helping Rachel find a dress before getting his own tux ready. She felt terrible; he was so sweet, so caring. . .

So why was she forcing herself to smile while she was around him? Why couldn't she be genuinely happy around her amazing boyfriend?

She shook the reason out of her head. She knew why. She'd thought of nothing but Finn since the day she cut Spanish with him and went to the playground. Her heart ached at the memory of them by the monkey bars, wrapped around each other while he kissed her until she couldn't remember her name. For the first time since Jesse had moved here she'd been truly content and liberated; only to find out that Finn had been ensnared by the she-devil Santana Lopez. Once again, she'd been the one Finn turned to while he was with another girl. Would it ever end? Of all the stuck-up cheerleaders in that school, did it have to be Santana? God, anyone but her! The thought of her sweet, kind, Finn with that wench made her blood boil.

She scolded herself while she looked through the halter dresses. _He was never yours, Rachel. Get used to it. _

"What do you think of this color, Rach? I think it would look really nice with your skin." Jesse pointed to a light peach dress that was strapless with intricate beading on the front. She smiled while appraising the gown; she was sure the color would go great with her olive skin. She found the dress in her size and headed for the dressing rooms. Sighing, she was surprised he didn't follow her to the dressing rooms. He hadn't let her out of his sight in days. If he was being overprotective before, it wouldn't even compare to how obsessive with her he'd been acting. He was taking clingy to the next level.

Once inside her stall, she slipped out of her clothes from the day and stood topless besides her underwear, analyzing her reflection in the mirror. She removed her bra because the dress was strapless, and she needed to see how it would fit without one on. She frowned while she looked at her breasts; she'd always wished them a cup-size bigger. She didn't need huge boobs, but sometimes she wished for a little more in the front.

She wondered idly what Jesse would think of them. He'd seen other girl's before; maybe he would think she wasn't big enough? She'd been thinking about these things a lot since Jesse had brought up the idea of having sex after the dance tomorrow. Was she really ready yet? As much as she'd held onto the dream that Finn would be her first, she was starting to lose hope that they'd ever get together. And Jesse was so sweet and caring and patient. She was starting to think that she owed him something in return for waiting this long for her. Her resolve was breaking down by the day.

She was afraid that by tomorrow night, she would no longer be a virgin.

She nodded her head, determined as she slipped into the peach colored dress. It hugged her waist and flared out into a wide skirt at the hip. The beading detail was gorgeous, she would have to pick out jewelry that wouldn't overwhelm the details. She tugged at the zipper on the side, but the angle of her wrist was too awkward to zip up properly. She needed help from an attendant. Humming lightly, she held the dress onto her body as tightly as she could and opened the door to find someone to help her.

Instead, she found Finn Hudson in his underwear, standing directly outside of her door.

"Finn?!" She was incredulous as she saw him shyly rub the back of his neck.

"Uh, hey, Rach."

"What are you doing here?" She looked around the aisle and saw an attendant turning the corner. She pulled him into her dressing room with her, closing the door behind her and realizing that these stalls were really only made for one person at a time. They were pretty cramped together, and her wide, poufy skirt did little to help in the small space. She held her unzipped dress tighter to her chest, when she realized their proximity and lack of clothes.

"I'm picking out my tux for the dance."

"Oh. I'm getting my dress."

"Oh."

They stood in the small room, awkwardness filling the tiny space as Rachel searched for something to say. The only think that came to her mind though, was, "So, is _Santana_ here?" She couldn't keep the venom from her voice when she said the name.

"No, I came alone. She bought her dress weeks ago. I barely knew there even was a dance." He shuffled from one foot to the other in his socks and underwear. "Is Jesse here?"

"Yes, in fact, he's waiting for me." She shouldn't be here with him, alone like this. . .

He looked wounded, and she could tell he wanted to say something. "Rachel, --"

She cut him off, not wanting to hear his excuses. "Why, Finn? Why her?"

He shook his head sadly, and she could see the pain in his eyes. "You don't understand, Rachel, I don't want to date her. In fact, I really can't stand her!"

"But you both said that you were dating and you're taking her to the dance."

He moved as close to her as the tiny space would allow, his body pushing up against the wide skirt as she held the dress even tighter to her body, afraid it would slip off of her at any second, exposing her chest to Finn. He made eye contact with her and the anguish in his gaze left her feeling conflicted and hurt. "Rachel, you don't understand. . ."

"Then explain to me, Finn! Please, I'm dying to know!"

He grabbed her by the arms, rougher than she'd ever expect him to be. He started to shake her lightly, his voice straining to sound normal. "She's _blackmailing_ me, Rachel. She has something on me that could ruin everything!"

Blackmail? That was a serious word for Finn to be throwing around. But the panicked look in his eyes and the way he was still clutching onto her made her think otherwise. Was he really dating Santana because he was being blackmailed? It made a hell of a lot more sense than Finn dating someone he couldn't stand.

"Blackmail?" The word left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Yes, she knows something about me, and she wants to tell people about it if I don't take her to the dance. But Rach, you have to believe me, I don't want to be with her. Everything that happened on the playground was real."

She wanted to believe him, but her curiosity got the better of her. "What is it, Finn? What does she have on you?" If he didn't already look scared, he seemed downright terrified now. He started to back up away from her, until he was pressed against the mirror on the other wall of the stall. She was the one to walk forward now, and trap him in a corner.

"If I tell you, you'll hate me. Forever. You'll never forgive me and _he'll win._" His answer was not the one she'd expected, and it left her feeling more curious than ever before. What could he have possibly done that would make her hate him forever? She couldn't even think of something that would warrant that kind of response! And _who_ would win? Since when had Finn become so cryptic?

"Who will win, Finn?" He just shook his head, looking down at the floor. "You can tell me, I promise, I won't hate you." His head shot up, and his eyes were as wide as ever with disbelief and fear. "Finn, you can tell me _anything_."

He moved forward again, startling her and catching her off guard as his arms wrapped around her waist. She finally let go of the fabric she'd been holding so clumsily to her chest, and she heard his soft intake of breath when he looked down and saw her bare breasts. She didn't care. The truth was more important than modesty right now. She remembered that he was just as exposed as she was in his underwear, and her breath hitched in her throat when she realized the effect their proximity was having on him. She felt a fire, like nothing she'd ever felt before, burn through her body and leave her feeling tingly and hot. One of her hands reached up to cup his cheek as his gaze fluttered back up from her chest to her eyes. She'd never exposed herself to anyone like this before, but she felt oddly liberated.

"Finn, tell me, please. What does she have on you?" His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water; no sound came out of him. "Please?"

His head fell forward until it was against her bare shoulder, and she thought she could feel wetness on her chest. She realized with a shock, that he was crying on her naked breasts in the middle of a dressing room stall. It would be comical if it hadn't been so serious.

He finally opened his mouth to speak and his voice was filled with anguish. "It should have been you, Rachel. It should have been with_ you_." He said in-between sobs. Nothing else was said, he just continued to cry as she gently stroked his hair. He made no move to touch her bare breasts or kiss her, he just rested his head on her body, seeking the comfort of her touch. She didn't ask him any more questions, even though she didn't understand what he'd meant.

He picked up his head after a minute and kissed away his tears that had dripped onto her naked skin. It felt like she hadn't breathed since the second he laid his head down on her shoulder. Making eye contact with her again, he nodded fiercely and opened his mouth to tell her the truth. "Rachel, I--"

"Rachel? Are you okay in there? Can I see the dress?" Jesse's voice was right outside of the dressing room and she watched, helpless, as Finn closed in on himself again and refused to elaborate more about his secret. She didn't break eye contact with him when she called back.

"Yeah, I'll be right out."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

He'd been so close. So close to telling her the truth about everything; him, Santana, the game. . .everything. She had the power to disarm him completely, to knock down every level of defense he'd built up around this secret, and she'd broken through it like it was made of Lincoln Logs.

He couldn't help it if she was so stunningly beautiful it made him lose all coherent thought. How was he supposed to defend his secret when she was exposing her chest to him so innocently?

But, as usual, Jesse had the worst timing in the world. One more second and he would have told her about Santana. About sleeping with her in the crappy motel room and how he'd wished it'd been her the entire time.

She was staring at him, watching him to gauge his reaction. Her boyfriend was waiting for her outside the stall while he was here in his underwear and she was half-topless. He watched in awe as she bought them some time.

"Jesse, go find me an attendant who can help me with my zipper, it's stuck." He could hear Jesse's footsteps as he was walking away, and Finn just watched as Rachel pulled the dress back over her exposed chest. Soaking in the image of the dress, he walked over to her and grasped the tiny zipper in his large fingers. He pulled it up and secured her into her dress, purposely brushing his fingertips across the naked skin of her side as the dress closed. Once the dress was clasped, she looked in the mirror at herself and twirled around in the dress.

"So, what do you think?" She was looking at herself in the mirror, but could see Finn's face from his reflection.

"I think you look awesome." Awesome couldn't even begin to describe how stunning he thought she looked.

"Really?"

"Yeah, totally." He saw her beaming smile in the reflection as a blush spread across her face. He leaned forward to kiss her on her cheek and whispered in her ear, "I can't wait to see you at the dance." He could see the shock on her face at his last statement, but he refused to stay a second longer while she was looking so beautiful, so unattainable. He opened the door to her stall and raced into his own, shutting the door behind him and breathing heavily. That had been intense in every sense of the word. He'd been so close to spilling the truth; now he wanted nothing more than to scream it from the roof of the school. He decided that he wanted her to know about him and Santana. He wanted to be rid of this blackmail and the guilt of keeping secrets from Rachel.

Today had been pretty good progress, but he had a feeling the dance would change everything.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Salut mes amis!

Finn's resolve is breaking down! Rachel knows he's being blackmailed, and he's still unaware that she still has some secrets of her own!

Until Next Time. . .*sings* Don't Stop. . .Reviewing!

Merci Mille Fois

The Minsk


	6. Spring Fling

DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. They are the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. This is purely for fun. Enjoy! :)

A/N: The moment you've all been waiting for has arrived. THE DANCE!!!

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Sex, Lies, and Glee

Chapter Six: Spring Fling

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"Rachel, are you alright?" Twisting her fingers around the hem of her sweater nervously, she lifted up her head and tried her best to smile. The plastic covers for their formal wear swished in the backseat of Jesse's car as he dropped her off after shopping. She'd spent the second half of their shopping trip trying to distract Jesse so Finn could pay for his rental tux and leave the store without Jesse noticing. He would have flipped if he'd known Finn was there.

Especially if he'd known that they'd been practically naked with each other in the dressing room stalls. Their rushed conversation still weighed heavily on her mind as she tried to piece together the facts to figure out Finn's secret.

"Yeah, I'm just tired, is all. Shopping can be really draining." Especially if your heart had been flip-flopping in your chest all day long. That morning she'd thought she'd been ready to take the next step with Jesse, but after her conversation with Finn, she was now more curious about him and his blackmailed relationship with Santana. He still obviously had feelings for her, and no matter how much she tried to tamper down her own feelings for Finn, they just wouldn't go away.

Jesse pulled up in front of her house and gave her a warm kiss on her cheek. "I'll be here at 6pm sharp tomorrow, okay? My uncle is letting me borrow his Benz for the night so I can escort my Princess in style." He kissed the back of her hand as he said this, and she blushed profusely under his gaze.

"Goodnight Jesse. See you tomorrow." She carefully removed her dress from the backseat and carried it into her house. Her dads made her try it on for them and she spent the next hour taking pictures with them in her first real gown. The fatigue became overwhelming after a while, and she changed out of the gown and placed it back in it's plastic protection, hanging it up on her closet door. She changed into comfy clothing and threw herself on her bed, succumbing to her fatigue. She stared at the gown while she was falling asleep, thinking of Finn. She thought about the way he'd looked at her when she'd exposed herself to him. She tried to remember the way she'd felt underneath his heavy gaze, and the feeling of blazing fire that had spread through her body.

But then she'd remembered how scared he'd looked when he wanted to tell her the secret he'd been hiding from her. The one that was important enough to suffer through a fake relationship with Santana for. He was afraid to tell her, though. What could he be hiding that would make her hate him? She couldn't even fathom such a thing. And he'd been so cryptic; taking about someone winning and how it should have been her. She couldn't make the pieces fit together, none of it made sense out of context. She needed to know _more_. Who would win? And what would they win? And what did it have to do with her?

She let these questions lull her into an uneasy sleep where she slipped into many dreams. She'd dreamed of being Cinderella; late for the ball, running to meet up with her Prince. When she'd finally made it, there were two Princes waiting for her, begging her to choose. Brown eyes clashed with blue as they both beckoned her to take one of their hands.

She'd run away screaming.

That dream, along with many others, left Rachel with a heavy sense of unease the next morning. As much as she'd wanted to go to the dance, now she was afraid of seeing Finn there while she was with Jesse. She wanted to talk to him so badly, but she knew Jesse would freak if he'd caught them talking. So she went through the motions of the day, not really caring about what was going on around her. The majority of the students were talking about the dance; who they'd voted for May Queen and what color dress they'd bought. If she didn't have to worry about her boyfriend hating her friend-who-was-a-boy, she would have joined in with them.

But she couldn't get Finn and Jesse out of her mind all day. She couldn't live like this; torn between two boys who couldn't stand the other. It was _exhausting_.

Finn's secret was also on the forefront of her mind throughout the day. She wanted to know more about it, but realized that she had no right to be prying into his life. Didn't she have her own secrets, and her own reasons for keeping them? Maybe he had his as well.

The entire afternoon had been spent in her room, preparing for the dance. She'd spent hours on her hair and makeup, fixing everything to perfection. She twisted her hair into a sleek chignon, keeping it off of her neck as she clasped on her small chain that she wore everyday. Slipping on a pair of white satin gloves, she carried a white cardigan to cover her shoulders for later that night. She didn't know how late she would be out, or what she'd be doing. . .

Looking in the mirror, she appraised herself for the final time before grabbing her clutch and heading for the door. Her peach dress was gorgeous, the intricate beading reflecting light off of the stones in flashes of rainbow light. Her white gloves stood out against the dress and her skin, and matched her simple white heels perfectly. She'd never spent so much time in front of the mirror before in her life, and she only hoped she'd been able to clean herself up properly.

The last thing she did before leaving her bedroom, was slip a condom from her last sex ed class into her tiny clutch. She didn't know what was going to happen between her and Jesse after the dance later that night, but she would rather be prepared if she was ready to have sex with him. Making sure she had everything she needed, she readied herself for the dance.

Jesse's beaming smile was her greeting as she carefully walked down the steps in her heels, holding her clutch and cardigan. She and Jesse posed for another hundred or so pictures as she tried to drag him out of her house as quickly as possible. She blushed as he opened the door of his car for her, and helped her into it like a true gentleman. She could feel the excitement bubbling up inside of her, and she smiled as they drove off and headed for the school.

"Are you excited for tonight?"

"Yes, I think it's going to be fun." She hoped it would be fun. Fun was the best case scenario. The worst case would be if Finn and Jesse ended up in a fist fight. She was praying for the former.

"Not as fun as it'll be _after_ the dance." He looked at her from the corner of her eye to gauge her reaction, and she hesitated before smiling timidly.

"Yeah."

...........................................................................................................................................

Finn fiddled with his cuff-links awkwardly as Santana jabbed him sharply in the side with her elbow. "Stand still, _Finbecile_, he has to take the picture."

"I can't help it, these clothes are uncomfortable."

"Not my problem, just stand there and look pretty." She smiled as widely as she could for the picture and he stopped playing with his clothing long enough to take the damn picture. He could already tell this night was going to be _soooo _much fun.

He was momentarily blinded when the photographer snapped the picture, and his vision was a blur of colors and shapes before his eyes refocused. He looked around for Santana, and she'd already run off, finding Brittany in the crowd of people. He could see them kiss cheeks with the other girls from the squad. They all looked like they were wearing the same cut dress in different colors. So much for originality. He sighed as he wandered around the half-full gymnasium. They'd managed to clean it up nicely: streamers hung from the rafters and the nets and balloons decorated every table. There was a DJ booth across from the dance floor, with tables lining the walls filled with food and punch. A typical school dance. He felt awkward and uncomfortable in his own skin and he was already searching for a means of escape. She'd obviously only dragged him along so she could have someone to pose with her in the photo. Someone who could stand around, stay silent, and look pretty. He'd certainly been a good candidate.

He noticed a few people from glee club already scattered in the crowd. Tina was helping Artie in the DJ booth while Mercedes and Kurt picked apart everyone's dresses from their table near the DJ station. He joined them, thankful he had someone to hang out with during this debacle.

"What happened to Santana?" Kurt asked him.

He'd replied bitterly. "She got tired of her arm-candy." He could see her flirting with another guy from across the dance floor. He didn't care.

Bored before the dance even started, he scanned the crowd to see if Rachel had arrived. The image of her naked breasts falling out of the peach-colored strapless gown had been the only thing on his mind for the past 24 hours. She was so flawless, so perfect in his arms. He needed to see her in the dress again, it was driving him wild.

Searching through the crowd, he smirked as he witnessed Puck take a flask out of his jacket pocket, and spike the punch with hard liquor. He seriously contemplated going up for a nice, large, cup of punch before a flash of peach snapped his attention back to reality.

Rachel had arrived.

He drunk in the image of her in the poufy peach gown, her hair twisted up in a style he'd never seen on her before. She was wearing the cutest pair of gloves that matched the small bag she was holding and the heels she was walking on. Everything about her looked perfect, like she'd walked straight out of a fairy tale.

And right next to her, attached to her arm, was her Prince.

It was enough to make his blood boil.

_He_ should be the one on her arm! It should be _him_ escorting her to the dance like she was royalty. Hell, she looked like royalty tonight. And he looked like he was being forced to sit through a Hannah Montana movie; he felt so uncomfortable.

He watched her as she soaked in her surroundings, and burned with jealousy as he witnessed them posing for pictures together; like he'd done with Santana a few minutes before. They smiled together while Jesse's arm was wrapped snugly around her waist, holding her hand. Finn wanted to puke. They looked like the perfect couple.

He really needed some punch. Now.

But before he could escape in the bliss of alcohol, Rachel noticed him across the gym, and dragged Jesse over to the glee club's table. They exchanged pleasantries with everyone, and Finn almost fell off of his chair when Jesse purposely sat next to Finn instead of Rachel. Great, now he had to try and resist punching him in his smarmy face all night long.

But at least he would be close to Rachel. She was sitting on the other side of Jesse, but he had a better view of her face from where he was sitting. She was practically glowing as she smiled at him from her seat.

Perhaps this night wouldn't be so boring after all. . .

"Rachel, do you want something to drink?" Jesse leaned over to ask Rachel as she nodded her head. "I'll be right back." He walked off to get them drinks and Finn took this opportunity to give Rachel a proper greeting. He took one of her gloved hands and kissed it, letting his lips linger in the sliky fabric.

"You look amazing tonight, Rach." She stifled her laugh with her other gloved hand as a deep blush spread across her face.

"Thanks. You do too, Finn. You clean up nicely." He looked down and frowned. He looked like every other dude who'd been dragged to the dance; he felt like nothing special.

"Nah, I look like a penguin."

Shaking her head quickly, she frowned. "No! You don't! You look really," she gave him a quick once-over and it was his turn to blush, "handsome."

"Thanks." He looked up and noticed Jesse returning with their drinks. The guy was like a hawk, he was never going to get a second alone with her while he was around. All of a sudden, he got a devilish idea. A sneaky, rotten, dirty idea that could either work like a charm, or backfire in his face. "Hey, I think the drinks might have been spiked, so if you don't want yours, just give it to me." She nodded as Jesse came back to the table with their drinks. She took one sip of hers and passed it to Finn, not liking the taste. Jesse downed his in a nano-second; either the kid didn't know it was spiked or he was looking to get trashed. Either way, his plan was going to work.

Without Jesse noticing, he replaced the almost-empty cup with Rachel's full one, and watched as Jesse downed that drink almost as quickly as the first.

Finn grinned evilly. This would be easier than he'd thought.

......................................................................................................................................

Rachel had lost count of how many drinks her boyfriend had imbibed. She could have sworn he'd only gone up for two or three refills of the spiked punch, but he was starting to look pretty trashed.

"Jesse?" His head was resting on the table alongside their empty dishes from dinner. The dance was more than halfway done; they had yet to crown May Queen, but it was coming up soon, which meant that the dance was almost over. She hadn't even had the chance to dance once; Jesse had started drinking early in the evening, and by the time people had started dancing, he was slurring about the time he'd met Alan Cummings in a Foot Locker in New York City. By the time dinner was served, he'd taken a nap on their table. Rachel sat around, talking to Finn the entire time while her boyfriend snored lightly next to her. "I don't think he realized the punch was spiked."

"Nah, that wasn't it." She looked up at Finn curiously.

"What do you mean?"

"I've been slipping him drinks all night long. It's my fault he's like that."

"Finn!" He had the decency to look contrite.

"I'm sorry! But if he was awake right now, I wouldn't be able to do this." She watched in awe as he stood up, towering above her, and held out his hand. "Rachel Berry, may I have this dance?"

She had to cover her heart with one of her hands, she thought her heart would leap out of her chest. Finn looked so handsome, so debonair in his tuxedo. He'd kept her company all evening long and told her she looked beautiful every chance he'd had. Now, with the way he was smiling at her and the longing in his eyes. . .she couldn't say no. He was irresistible.

"Why of course, Finn." She placed a gloved hand in his outstretched one as he walked them out onto the dance floor. The lights dimmed as DJ Abrams, Artie's DJ name, picked out a slower song.

She gasped as he slipped an arm around her waist, tightly, and brought her as close to his chest as she could get. both of her arms slipped around his neck as they started to sway to the soft intro. They made eye contact and it felt like his eyes were penetrating right into her soul. She was afraid he would be able to see how nervous she felt, and how her heart had started to beat erratic and frantic. The music swam around the large space, a hum of notes as the words wrapped around them like silk.

_"The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful, Stop me and steal my breath."_

"Finn?"

"Yes, Rachel."

_"And emeralds from mountains thrust toward the sky, Never revealing their depth."_

"You never finished telling me yesterday. About your secret."

"Ah, you remembered. I was afraid of that."  
_  
__"Tell me that we belong together."_

"You were so scared, how could I forget?"

"I'm not proud of what I did, Rachel. I'm still afraid of your reaction."

_"Dress it up with the trappings of love."_

"Finn, you can tell me anything. I promise."

"Anything?"  
_  
__"I'll be captivated,"_

"Anything."  
_  
__"I'll hang from your lips,"_

"I'm in love with you, Rachel."

_"Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above."__  
__  
_His lips pressed against hers then, as the music built itself up into a dizzying crescendo around them. She leaned into his embrace, wanting to be close to him, needing the feel of his hands on her skin. His hands moved up from her waist to her face, and he cupped her cheeks delicately while they continued to sway to the music.  
_  
__"I'll be your crying shoulder, I'll be love's suicide.__  
__I'll be better when I'm older, I'll be the greatest fan of your life."_

She looked up at him after breaking apart the kiss, her emotions overwhelming her. He looked down at her with hooded eyes and she gripped the lapel of his jacket, wanting so badly to pull him down again and meet his lips for a second time.

"Finn. . .was that it?" Had his hidden love been the secret that had almost torn them apart?

"No, Rachel that was only the first part of it. I have so much more I want to tell you. That I _need_ to tell you."

"I'm right here, Finn. I won't go anywhere."

He smiled softly at her and leaned forward to kiss her again. She leaned into his embrace, wanting to be close to him. He loved her. He actually admitted that he loved her. . .

And she loved him, too.

Before her lips could attach themselves to Finn's again, she felt herself being pulled away from him. Her hands were pulled off of his lapel and she realized with a flash of fear that Jesse was awake.

And he did _not_ look happy.

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"What the hell is going on here?!?" Finn heard the music shut off in a squeak of vinyl as Jesse's loud roar filled the gymnasium. The people in their fancy clothes all turned to look at Finn, Rachel and Jesse in the middle of the dance floor, each boy holding onto a gloved hand.

"She wanted to dance. It's not my fault you can't hold your liquor."

"And you told me it was punch."

"Yeah, it _was_ punch. Spiked punch."

"It's pretty pathetic that you have to drug a guy to get close to his girlfriend. Did you enjoy your little dance?"

"Fuck you."

"No that's okay, I'd rather fuck my girlfriend. Right honey?" He scanned Rachel's face, looking for a sign that Jesse was lying, that she had no intention of sleeping with him again. She was looking away from him; apparently the floor was much more interesting than their conversation. It was all the confirmation he'd needed.

"Leave her out of this!" Yeah, it hurt, but it wasn't the first time he'd heard she was sleeping with him.

"You know that was the plan for tonight, right? Did she tell you that while you two were swaying together? Before you kissed? That later she'll be screaming my name?" Finn let go of Rachel's hand, feeling like he'd just been rammed in the gut by a linebacker. She looked up at him like she was a wounded animal; wide-eyed and trembling in her gorgeous dress. He wanted to sweep her up in his arms and escape with her somewhere far away, somewhere where no one would ever find them.

But Jesse pulled her by the other gloved hand until she was in his arms again. He could still see her shaking, but his resolve was breaking down. She'd slept with Jesse once, of course she'd do it again. He _was_ pathetic; for ever thinking he'd have another chance with her.

So he nodded his head and looked directly at her, forcing her to make eye contact with him. Staring at Rachel, but talking to Jesse, he smiled sadly and started to walk backwards, away from them.

"If that's what she wants." He forced himself to break eye contact with her and practically ran from the school, Santana completely forgotten. She could get a ride home from the dance for all he cared; he needed to get the hell out of there!

He ran through the parking lot until he reached his car. All he could think about was Rachel in her gorgeous dress, and how Jesse would be the one to take it off of her and kiss her glorious skin. How he would be the one to hold her silky, gloved hands and hear her voice calling out his name.

"Fuck!" He punched his steering wheel as he turned on the ignition of the car. He pulled out of his spot maniacally, trying to escape the school and the torturous images that were poisoning his mind. He needed to get as far away from the school as possible. Maybe he should run away? Transfer to a high school where they didn't have show choirs and sassy divas with voices that could make the angels jealous.

He peeled out of the spot and was about to speed out of the parking lot when someone jumped in front of his car, giving him flashbacks to the infamous Mailman incident. He practically screamed like a girl, thinking he'd hit one of his random peers who'd been idly strolling in the parking lot. He had to do a double take when he realized who it was.

It was Rachel.

She ran to the passenger door and climbed in, her skirt billowing around her body while she tried to push it down with her seatbelt.

"Drive!"

"Rachel?"

"Just drive!"

He pressed on the gas as hard as he could and the last thing he'd heard was his tires squealing with the force of his acceleration as he sped off into the night with Rachel.

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Salut mes amis!

:) This chapter took me forever to write, but it was worth it.

Until Next Time. . .*sings* Don't Stop Reviewing!

Merci Mille Fois!

The Minsk


	7. The Right Choice

DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. They are the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. This is purely for fun. Enjoy! :)

A/N: The aftermath of the dance. . .**CITRUS ALERT**

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Sex, Lies, and Glee

Chapter Seven: The Right Choice

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Finn sped through the streets of Lima, faster than he'd ever driven before. Normally, he was a cautious driver, but not on this night. Rachel had told him to drive, and that's exactly what he was doing.

"Where do you want to go?" He'd asked her, anxiously.

"Anywhere we can be alone. We need to talk." Nodding firmly, he'd realized that this was it. This was the moment where he was finally going to have the chance to talk to her honestly, and tell her the truth. He headed towards his house, knowing that it would be empty. His mom had a date with Burt, and he had a feeling she would be out for the night.

He led her into his dark house, straight for his bedroom so they could be alone together for the first time in what felt like eons. He held her hand as they maneuvered through the empty house, and Finn held his breath as he led her into his room, closing the door behind them with a light "click."

There was no turning back, now. It was time to tell her the truth.

She took a good look around his room, and he realized that this was the first time she'd ever been to his house. She laughed at the cowboy wallpaper and sat down on his tiny bed. She looked so out of place in her glamorous gown, sitting on his crappy bed. She patted the space next to her, and he joined her.

They looked at each other expectantly, each person waiting for the other to make the first move. They were all alone now. No one would be interrupting them. He cleared his throat, wanting to break the silence.

"Why did you leave the dance, Rachel? I thought you and Jesse were going to spend the night together." It hurt him to even think about the implications of that statement, but he needed to know. He had to know why she'd chosen him tonight instead of Jesse.

She shook her head, sadly. "When you left, he turned on me, and he looked so _angry_. He started to yell at me in front of everyone, and his breath stunk like alcohol. I was so embarrassed; there was no way I was about to do anything with him like that. And I definitely didn't want him to drive me home drunk, so I left him."

Disappointment burned in him like fire, and he felt foolish for getting his hopes up. He'd thought that maybe she'd actually chosen him, when he was really just a glorified taxi. He couldn't control the bitterness in his tone. "So you jumped out in front of my car because you wanted a ride home?"

"No! It's not like that, Finn. There's _more_." She looked down at her hands, trying to avoid eye contact. "You told me that you loved me."

He took one of her hands into his own and agreed sincerely. "I do."

"But you weren't finished." She looked up at him again, and her eyes were shining bright with curiosity. "You said that there was still more to tell me. I need to know, Finn."

He nodded, he was ready to do this. It was time. "I was so jealous, Rachel. So pathetically, desperately jealous. I did the most stupid thing I've ever done in a lifetime of stupid."

One of her small gloved hands rested on his cheek. "You're not stupid, Finn."

The truth poured from his lips, uncontrollably. "I lied to you about being a virgin." The hand dropped from his cheek. He missed the contact immediately.

"What?"

"That night, when I had that first date with Santana, I slept with her. I'm not a virgin anymore, Rachel. I lied." He watched, helpless, as her mouth opened and closed in overwhelmed silence. He grabbed both of her hands in his and let the desperation seep into his pleads. "Please, Rachel, I'm so sorry. She knew how much it would hurt you to find out, so I made her promise not to say anything, and then she was blackmailing me about it, and it turned into a big fucked-up mess. . ." His babbling was interrupted by the sounds of soft crying. Feeling like his heart had sunk into his gut, he watched as her face crumpled in on itself in tears. Her body shook while she covered her face with her gloved hands.

He'd made her cry. Why was he always the one to make her cry?

He kept talking, the truth spilling from his lips without any filter. "It meant _nothing_. Absolutely nothing. I felt so miserable afterwards, I think I might have cried. . ." He would have continued, but he was suddenly attacked by Rachel's body as she flung herself into his chest and kissed him until he couldn't see straight. He tasted salt on his lips, and, when he pulled away from her, he could see tears still spilling down her cheeks. Wait, wasn't she upset? Then why was she kissing him? He would never understand chicks. "Rachel?"

"It all makes sense now."

"Huh?"

"What you'd said to me yesterday. 'It should have been with you'. That's what you meant." She smiled softly through her tears as he kissed her again, reveling of the feel of her in his arms.

"So you're not mad?" She shook her head sadly.

"No, I have no right to be mad at you."

"Why?"

"I have something to tell you, too."

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She was so nervous she could barely keep her voice level as she fidgeted under the steady gaze of Finn on his bed. Yeah, she'd been hurt to know that Finn had slept with Santana, but hadn't she been putting him through the same pain in thinking she'd slept with Jesse? She had no right to be angry with him when she was hiding her own secret. The overwhelming guilt she'd felt about lying to Finn had been the cause of her tears.

Since when had their lives become intertwined with sex and lies? They used to be so honest with each other; so open. Finn cared about her enough to tell her the truth, so she would do the same. She owed it to him.

"I'm a virgin, Finn." She couldn't prevent the blush that sperad across her cheeks at her confession, but she held her head high and anticipated his reaction. He sat on his bed, looking completely shocked, and ran a hand through his hair in disbelief.

"A virgin?"

"Jesse and I never had sex. I lied to you, too. That's why I can't be mad about Santana." He looked away from her, turning around so she couldn't see his face. Was he angry? She was hoping he would understand, she'd wanted them to have a clean slate. "I knew I wasn't ready, and to tell you the truth, I didn't want my first time to be with him." He looked at her again, letting the smallest of smiles grace his features.

"Why?" His voice was soft, low, and it gave her goosebumps on her bare shoulders.

"Because he's not you."

Quicker than she'd ever seen him move, he turned around and grabbed her by the upper arms, locking her in his stare. She was trapped in his clutches and his gaze; she couldn't move even if she'd wanted to.

"Do you love me?" The question was so abrupt she had to ask him to repeat it. "Do you love me, Rachel? I need to know. Because _I_ love you. I know that what I did was a mistake, and I know why it had been a mistake. Because I did it with someone who hadn't mattered. Now I know better. I know to wait until I'm with the person I care about more than anything. And I know in my heart that you're the one." He swallowed thickly as she felt her own throat become tight with emotion. "I don't want to see the same thing happen to you, Rachel. You should wait to be with the person you love, don't throw it all away like I did. But if you love Jesse, if you truly love him, then it's okay. I'll leave you alone from now on. But only if you can look me in the eyes and tell me that you love him."

His deep chocolate eyes had her locked in place as she searched for the words to say. Whatever she'd felt for Jesse was nothing, _nothing_, compared to what she felt for Finn. She'd been trying to deny it since Jesse had moved here, but the truth was inevitable. Finn would always come first in her heart.

"I can't do it, Finn. He's not the one." She could feel the absolute truth of the statement once it had passed her lips.

"Rachel. . ." His voice was strained with emotion.

"I want it to be you."

"I can't . . ." He hesitated, pulling away from her. She was still with Jesse, but she didn't care. Sitting here, bearing her soul to Finn in his tiny bedroom, was the catalyst she'd needed to make her decision.

She was ready.

"I love you, Finn."

She grabbed his hand and he watched in utter shock as she led it to the zipper on the side of her dress. Just yesterday, they had been pressed together in the dressing room of the formal wear store, his fingers brushing the naked skin of her torso. She wanted those feelings back. She needed to _feel_; something, _anything_.

Her breath caught in her throat as his fingers grazed her skin softly, tenderly, like she was made of porcelain. She could feel the cool air against her chest as she stood up, letting the top of the dress fall. She watched him as he soaked in the image of her naked chest. She shimmied out of the dress until she was standing almost fully naked in his bedroom, the flowing gown a heap of fabric at her feet. Clad only in her white cotton panties, she stood in front of him, waiting, anxious, nervous.

He stood up from his position on the bed, and her heart started to pound when she noticed the tenting in his pants. She took a deep breath. She was ready for this.

He walked up to her, until his clothed body towered over her, her body burning under his heavy gaze. He reached out to hold her, or touch her, but his hand snapped back in hesitation.

"What is it?" He looked up at her, his face curious and hesitant.

"Can I touch you?" A blazing fire, more powerful than anything she'd ever felt, set her body alive as she nodded her head. She took his hand and led it to her chest, closing his large hand around her small breast. The feelings that coursed through her were like nothing she'd ever felt as his fingers grazed the silky skin and caressed the soft flesh. She'd never known how good it would feel. "You're so beautiful." His mouth closed over hers as his hands roamed everywhere on her body. She reveled in the feeling of his hands on her skin, and he made her body come alive with the simplest touches.

She pulled at his jacket, and he started to remove his clothing. He could barely keep himself from falling over, he was in such a rush to get undressed. A rush of power coursed through her at the realization that she'd done this to him. She'd never felt so wild, so alive, in her life. She felt amazingly powerful, watching as Finn flung his clothes off until he was in his boxers, just as naked as she was. She found his lips again in another soul-searing kiss as skin made contact with skin. She felt his arms wrap around her body, engulfing her in the span of his broad chest. She could feel his erection pressed up against her abdomen as her heart did cartwheels in her chest. This was really happening.

She was going to have sex with Finn.

He whispered in her ear, worry thick in his voice. "Are you sure about this Rachel? I'd never forgive myself if you weren't ready."

She reached up to give him a kiss on the cheek and nodded. "I'm sure." She reached over for her clutch and pulled out the condom she'd packed earlier that night before sitting on the bed with Finn. He took the condom from her and she stared in wonder as he removed his boxers and slipped the condom onto his erection. She'd never even seen a penis that hadn't been in a textbook before, and the sight of Finn's very real one was more than a little intimidating.

But while she was staring at him, a pleasant feeling inside of her started to grow. It started to tingle and move throughout her body until it felt like the tips of her fingers were buzzing with sexual energy. She took one more look at Finn and the nervousness melted away. There was no reason to be scared. She was with Finn, just like she'd dreamed.

She reached for her underwear and slipped off the fabric, exposing her naked body to a boy for the first time in her life. Finn towered over her, waiting patiently for her to get comfortable, a glowing smile on his face. She laid back against his soft sheets and breathed in the smell of his body on the pillows. It felt like she was surrounded by Finn Hudson, and the feeling increased tenfold when he rested his body on top of hers, balancing his weight off of her petite frame.

"Are you ready?" That seemed to be the question of the year. Before tonight, she would have said no. But now, in Finn's room, surrounded by his body, his scent and his love, she knew in her soul that she was no longer the same person. Tonight she'd crossed a line. She'd matured.

She was ready.

She opened her legs, slowly, as his hand reached down and cupped her sex, rubbing her in slow circles. None of their previous caresses could even begin to compare to what was happening inside of her body now. She felt electric, like lightning could fly from her fingers. Closing her eyes, the pressure was building so slowly it was torturous.

"Finn, please. . ." She didn't know what she was asking for, she just knew that she didn't want him to ever stop touching her. His lips met hers as he continued to build up the pressure in her body to dizzying levels. She felt like she was a wound up coil, tight, and ready to snap at any second.

She felt him moving over her, and she gasped when she felt something hard in-between her legs. Finn kissed her once more and leaned over to whisper, "I love you," one last time before thrusting inside of her, taking her virginity and sending her into the blissful oblivion of love.

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He woke up sometime in the middle of the night, the extra body snuggled next to him in his tiny bed made it hard to stay comfortable for long. He gazed at Rachel affectionately as she slept soundly next to him, exhausted from their evening of passionate lovemaking that made him want to do back-flips. He'd had sex with Rachel! She'd said she loved him!

HE HAD SEX WITH RACHEL!

Not just once either, they'd done it until they couldn't move anymore. He was still kind of quick on the trigger, especially when Rachel was around, so their first time hadn't necessarily been the best. But the second time had been much better. And the third? It had been like heaven.

But he couldn't deny the sting of truth that nagged him in the corner of his mind. She was still dating Jesse, and she was technically cheating on him right now. Would she stay with him? Would she leave him to be with Finn? They hadn't discussed any of it, they'd only focused on each other. Now the anxiety crippled his mind as the night stretched on. What would she do?

He could only hope for the best as the anxiety finally quieted enough for him to fall back asleep. Rachel was the last thing on his mind as he drifted off with her in his arms, and he only hoped that she would make the right choice come Monday.

Now that he'd had Rachel, he didn't think he would be able to let her go.

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Salut mes amis!

Don't think for a SECOND that the drama is over! The next chapter will blow you away!

Until Next Time. . .*sings* Don't Stop. . .Reviewing!

Merci Mille Fois

The Minsk


	8. Fresh Start

DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. They are the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. This is purely for fun. Enjoy! :)

A/N: Just when you think everything is butterflies and rainbows for Finn and Rachel, Jesse pulls out the big guns. . .

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Sex, Lies, and Glee

Chapter Eight: Fresh Start

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Rachel could feel herself lifting out of the hazy in-between fog of dreams and reality. She felt the disconcerting unease of not being aware of ones surroundings, and she felt like she could sleep for hours more. But when she went to turn around into a more comfortable position, she found herself in the broad and naked chest of Finn Hudson.

In a flash of memory, the events of last night woke her up faster than a triple espresso.

She had sex with Finn last night. She was no longer a virgin. Realizing she was quite naked herself, she tried in vain to cover herself up with anything; to no avail. Who knew Finn hogged the covers? She realized with a shock that she had to find a way home before her dads woke up. She peeked her head over to look out the window, and she noticed the sun hadn't risen yet. She had to get out of here, fast. But she didn't want to wake up Finn. He needed his rest.

She slid out of bed silently, trying desperately not to wake the sleeping giant that was her lover. Finn was her lover! It was almost unreal. She tiptoed over to her underwear and realized that the only thing she'd worn last night was an evening gown, heels, panties and gloves. Not the kind of outfit for a walk of shame. So she went to his drawers and pulled out an old basketball t-shirt that was big enough to look like a tunic. So that's what she wore. Finn's shirt and her white heels. She picked up her gorgeous gown and hung it up in his closet. She could always pick it up another time.

She went over to his desk and pulled out a sheet of paper. Tapping her chin thoughtfully, she wondered what she should write him. Thanks for the sex?

_Dear Finn,__  
__Last night was amazing. I'm sorry I didn't wake you up, but I had to be home before my dads woke up. I kinda also wanted to get a head start on the day. I have some unfinished business with Jesse that I have to take care of. ;) I'll see you Monday. We'll have plenty of time to talk.__  
__Love,__  
__Rachel_

Placing the letter on his nightstand, she kissed his forehead before hopping out of his window in his long t-shirt and heels. She trotted back to her house as fast as she could to avoid being seen in her horrendous ensemble. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon by the time she reached her house, and as she was turning the key to her front door, she felt like a completely different person. Someone who stayed out with a boy all night long and wore his clothes home. Someone who knew the touch of a man. Someone who had trusted and loved.

She went straight into the shower to relax her sore muscles and contemplate the events of last night. Finn loved her. He was in love with her. She loved him too. But there was still Jesse. She liked Jesse, but now she knew the truth of the fact. Her heart would always belong to Finn. There wasn't enough room in her heart for both boys anymore.

She had to break up with Jesse.

She should have known it the second she realized that she couldn't have sex with him that he wasn't the right guy for her. Finn was the first boy to hold her heart, and he would always be her weakness. There was no denying it anymore. She had to break up with Jesse so she and Finn could have a fresh start.

So after a nice, filling breakfast, she walked over to Jesse's Uncle's house to break up with him.

She knocked on the door, filled with tension. She'd never really broken up with a boy before. Well, she'd broken up with Noah, but they'd been dating each other for the wrong reasons. Noah was sweet, but they were really just substitutes for the people they'd wanted.

But Jesse, he was another story. She'd liked him, she'd been almost ready to sleep with him. She cared about him, and he cared about her too. But he needed to know what had happened between her and Finn. It was bad enough they already hated each other. She had a feeling this would be messy.

When he answered, his face was filled with worry. "Rachel? Come in." He let her into his Uncle's house and it was in a bit of disarray. There were clothes and boxes scattered everywhere in the living room, and she had to maneuver herself around the scattered items on the floor. "What happened to you last night? I can barely remember anything thanks to that fucktard Hudson."

"Well, you got drunk."

"I know, _Hudson_ was slipping me drinks." She didn't like the way he spit out Finn's name like a curse. She needed to tell him the truth, and be straight with it. No sugar-coating.

"I left the dance with him. We told each other the truth about our virginity's, and I had sex with Finn."

To say he was shocked was an understatement. "How could you do this to me, Rachel?"

"I'm sorry Jesse, I care about you, I really do. But I knew that I wanted Finn to be my first."

He backed a few steps away from her, the surprise written on his face clearly. She felt guilty for hurting him like this, but it was the only way she and Finn could finally be happy.

But she was surprised when a sinister, sarcastic smile broke out on his face, and he looked at her with sad eyes. "Well, then I guess _he won_." The words sent shivers down her spine, the words striking a dissident chord with her. She looked at him suspiciously, her eyes turning into little slits of curiosity.

"What does _that_ mean?"

"I thought you said that he told you the truth?"

"He did tell me the truth, he said that he'd had sex with Santana and I forgave him for that."

He chuckled bitterly, his lip turned up in a scowl, "He told you nothing of his little game, then?"

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

"That very first day I transferred to WMHS, do you know what we talked about on the way to rehearsal? He told me that he had no interest in staying away from you, and that he was trying to win you back from me no matter what. He even turned it into a game, like you were a prize or something. I only went along with it because in my opinion, I'd already won. But he wouldn't give up. And I guess he won you back like he said he would." She froze, not wanting to believe what Jesse was saying. Finn would never think of something like that! He said he loved her, no one would do that to someone that they loved!

But a memory brought her out of the present and back into a small dressing room stall, where two bodies were pressed up against each other in a rush of tears and fabric. _"If I tell you, you'll hate me. Forever. You'll never forgive me and __**he'll win**__."_

No. It couldn't be possible. Finn would never do that to her! But he'd said it that day, with an expression that had frozen her blood in her veins. He'd said it to her, plain and simple. What had Finn been doing to her? Had it all been just an attempt to curry her favor, to make her break up with Jesse? Did he really love her if he was just playing her like a pawn in a game?

"No. No, I don't believe you."

"Rachel, do you see what he's done to us? This entire time, everything he did was to try to put a wedge in-between us, to break us apart. He slipped me drinks so he could steal you away at the dance. He got you to sleep with him. He's been trying to break us up from the start. He's no friend to you!" Tears started to pool in her eyes as her resolve was breaking down. She couldn't believe Finn had played her like a fool. "Rachel, I forgive you. For everything. I know what he did was wrong, but you can't be blamed for the way he manipulated you. It wasn't right. Please don't break up with me. I'll _always_ be here for you."

She collapsed into his arms, needing the comfort he was offering her. He was offering her forgiveness, even after sleeping with another boy. After sleeping with Finn, the one guy he hated the most in the world.

The tears started to flow freely at the thought that Finn would betray her trust like that. She thought he'd loved her, but he saw her as nothing but a game he could play with his competition. No matter how many times she'd trusted him with her heart, he found a different way to stomp it into oblivion. Her heart started to pound in her chest, so fiercely she thought she would faint.

She could feel herself breaking down, she needed to focus and not get hysterical. She looked around the living room, and the state of disorder made her pause. He was normally so tidy. "What's all this?"

His shoulders were set and he nodded grimly. "My parents are back from Bali. They want me to come home."

Gasping audibly, she felt all of her control slipping away. First Finn's betrayal, now Jesse was leaving, too? "Really?"

"Yeah, this town was never big enough for both Finn Hudson and Jesse St. James anyway." He reached forward and brushed her hair from her face. "I want you to come with me." His voice was soft and seductive, and her breathing stopped altogether when she processed his words.

"What?"

"Think about it Rachel! You and me, we can rule the halls of Carmel together as the leads of Vocal Adrenaline! We can be the King and Queen of VA, and take Regionals together! At Carmel, they treat the glee kids like Gods. You'll never suffer through another slushie shower again! You know the other kids never appreciated your talents the way that I do, anyway. I _get it_, Rachel. You're destined for greater things than Lima, and you know it's true. At Carmel, we'll train you to be the best. And we can be together, there, without anyone getting in the way. We can have a fresh start in a place where there is no Finn Hudson. No more distractions, Rachel. Just you and me."

"But, where would I live?"

He laughed softly. "You can stay with me and my parents. My house is huge, you can have your own wing with a private bathroom, a full recording studio and even a home theater. You'll have everything you'll ever need. And we'll be together, Rachel. Just us."

He was looking at her so expectantly, she didn't know what to say. She closed her eyes and tried to listen to what her heart was telling her. But her heart was torn into shatters. Her soul felt like it was ripped apart. Her body felt weak, tired, and broken. She was tired. She was broken.

"Okay."

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When Finn woke up on Saturday morning to find his bed empty, he panicked. He called out Rachel's name frantically, searching his house for her. He saw her dress in his closet and knew she couldn't have gone far. But then he'd found the note she'd left him and the panic had melted away.

When Finn called Rachel all day Sunday to chat with her about her unfinished business with Jesse, and received nothing but voicemail, he started to panic again. What happened if things hadn't gone well with Jesse? Where was she? But, she'd promised him in her letter that she'd talk to him on Monday, so he stopped panicking and tried to be patient.

When Finn came into school on Monday to find that both Rachel and Jesse had been absent, he did more than panic, he freaked out. Where had she been? And why wasn't she returning her calls? He started to fear the worst; that she'd chosen Jesse over him.

So when Finn came into school on Tuesday to find Rachel by her locker, he breathed a sigh of relief. She must have just felt under the weather for the day, that had to have been the reason for her absence. But when she turned around and made eye contact with him, his heart stopped beating in his chest when he processed the look of hatred on her face, aimed directly at him. He ran up to her, and he realized she was emptying the contents of her locker in a giant box. He could feel the adrenaline pouring through his veins as he analyzed the scene before him. What was going on?

"Rachel?" She turned away from his as best as she could while still emptying her locker. He knew she'd heard him, but she made no move to respond. "Rachel, what are you doing?"

"I'm leaving." Her curt tone made him feel like pins were sticking into his heart. "I'm transferring to Carmel."

It felt like time had stopped moving around him. He could hear his blood rushing in his ears. This was worse than her picking Jesse over him, she was choosing a different life over him! "What? But, I don't understand, I thought, Friday. . ."

"Friday was a mistake. Everything we did was a mistake." He felt like he'd been punched in the gut with brass knuckles. How could she say that? She'd said she loved him!

"How can you say that?"

"Jesse told me the truth, Finn. About your little game. Did you win, Finn? Huh? Are you the winner because you slept with me? Because you almost stole me from my boyfriend?" He stood in the hallway, dumbstruck at what she was saying. Jesse had told her about the game? What did she know?

"Rachel, it was never a game. I _care_ about you. I _love_ you. . ."

She put up a hand to silence him. "No, Finn. I can't trust anything you say anymore. I'm done with the lies and the manipulation. It's over. I'm moving to Carmel to be with Jesse."

"Jesse was just a part of the game as I was! He's not innocent in this!"

"Well at least he was honest enough to tell me the truth. You might have told me about Santana, but you didn't tell me how you were trying to sabotage my only true relationship for your gain." She cleared her throat and finished stuffing the box with her possessions. All he could do was stare at her; he didn't know what to say. "I'm done with being a loser in this school. Me and Jesse are going to rule Carmel together, where people will appreciate my talent."

"But, Rachel. . ." He let the sentence trail off, he didn't even know what he could do. She'd obviously made her decision.

"Goodbye, Finn. I'll see you at Regionals." Watching in stunned silence as she gathered her things and left the school, Finn felt like he was trapped in a cage. He needed to get the hell out of there, even though school hadn't even started yet. He turned on his heels, and headed straight for the exit.

He raced home, forgetting his car was parked in the parking lot; he just _ran_. He ran until his legs felt like they were on fire, until his lungs begged him for air. He ran until the tears in his eyes flew off of his face with his speed. He ran until he reached his little house and threw himself inside of his room. Closing the door behind him, he stood in his tiny room, completely unable to comprehend what had just happened.

_She left the group. She left __**me**__. She's gone._

There was no hope left. He and Rachel had built that team together and they shared the responsibility. She was the backbone of the team, the star. Without her, there was nothing. There was no point in competing anymore.

He walked over to his closet and opened the door, the striking peach fabric and puffy skirt catching his eye immediately. He'd never have the chance to return it to her now, but it didn't matter. He didn't want to return it anyway. This dress meant too much to him. He could still remember the first time he saw her holding the top up because she couldn't get the zipper closed. It had seemed like another lifetime when he'd been cramped with her in the tiny dressing room, touching her skin so softly. Then to see her in her full beauty, at the dance, her dress being the only truly unique one in a sea of conformity. The pain in his heart increased when he remembered the way it looked when she had taken it off later that night, the fabric a crumpled pile at her feet. He took the dress off the hanger and lifted the fabric to his face. It still smelled like her. It smelled like perfume, purity, and love.

He fell backwards onto his bed, hugging the fabric to his chest, the tears now a river down his face. He closed his eyes and clutched the fabric like he was holding onto his sanity and let himself fall into a deep, dark, place where there was no one there to catch him.

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Salut mes amis!

DUN DUN DUUUUUUN! Rachel has chosen Carmel over Lima! Jesse has a silver tongue! Finn is adorable, as usual!

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT? GAH!

Until Next Time . . .*sings* Don't Stop. . .Reviewing!

Merci Mille Fois

The Minsk


	9. A New Home

DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. They are the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. This is purely for fun. Enjoy! :)

A/N: Rachel leaves Lima to be a star in Vocal Adrenaline, but things aren't as they seem. . .

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Sex, Lies, and Glee

Chapter Nine: A New Home

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At first, things had been perfect. Things were exactly like he'd promised. She was so happy during that first week in Carmel, it had almost been like a dream.

The St. James' were so kind to her. Their house was huge, and they set her up in her own private wing of the house where she had everything she'd ever dreamed of. A rehearsal space, a private office for her schoolwork, a huge flat-screen TV; it had seemed unreal. The only rule was that she wasn't allowed in the main part of the house except for meals; the rest of the time she had to stay in her part of the house. She didn't mind. She had everything she'd needed in her room. Except internet, she didn't have that set up in her room yet, but she was too busy to go on the internet anyway.

Jesse was with her all the time, spoiling her with affection and attention. He spent every free moment with her in her part of the house, doing homework and practicing. He seemed genuinely happy to be home, and back with his friends. He was extremely popular in school, and when they walked in the hallways, she marveled at the attention he received from the students and the faculty. Everybody loved Jesse St. James.

The person who probably loved him more than anyone, was her new glee advisor, Shelby Corcoran. It seemed like Jesse was the poster child for perfection in Shelby's eyes; no matter how good a person was, they could never compare to Jesse. She picked apart everything the club did on stage and made Jesse into the model that people should aspire to be. It warmed her heart to know that her boyfriend was so well respected and loved.

To say she was intimidated by Ms. Corcoran was an understatement. She was terrified of her. She had the power to either make or break her career at Carmel. But when Jesse introduced her during that first week, she was greeted with a warm smile and a strong handshake.

"Welcome to Carmel, Rachel. I think you'll fit in just fine here." She'd been ecstatic at the acceptance she'd recieved in the club, and she knew she had made the right decision. She'd loved New Directions, but they couldn't offer her the opportunities that a group like Vocal Adrenaline could. She would be the star of a Championship Team, and no one would ever be able to deny her talent again.

But that had been the first week. It had seemed so blissfully perfect, she hadn't been aware of what was really going on around her.

During that second week, things started to change.

First, were the solo auditions for a lead female part in a song they'd wanted to perform at Regionals. Jesse had already been given the male lead. She'd been excited to audition; after all, Jesse had promised her that they would be ruling the club together as the new power couple, something she'd been looking forward to more than anything. She prepared an amazing solo that showcased her multitude of talents, and performed it waiting to hear the praise she'd been expecting.

"Next!" Was the only thing she'd heard from Shelby. She hadn't gotten the solo.

In fact, they wound up shoving her in the back of the routine, in the choir. She burned with injustice. Rachel Berry was not just a member of the choir! She was a star! Hadn't that been the point of transferring? She'd complained to Jesse about it, and his answer didn't placate her like she'd hoped.

"Rachel, don't worry. Shelby is a stickler for seniority, once you prove yourself in this time before Regionals, she'll reward you in the future."

"But you said we'd be getting the lead solos. We sang together more when we were still in New Directions."

He frowned at the reference to her old glee club, and shrugged his shoulders. "No worries, Rach. Things will get better."

Things did not get better. In fact, things got a lot worse.

She wasn't making any friends. In the first week, a lot of people talked to her because she was new, and they wanted to know more about Jesse St. James' girlfriend who'd followed him from Lima. But after the first week had passed, no one was very friendly to her anymore. They weren't unfriendly either, which was what she'd been expecting. They pretty much ignored her. When Jesse was surrounded by people in the halls, she felt like wallpaper. Like Jesse's arm candy. She felt invisible while surrounded by people, something she thought she'd never experience in her life. She was still outgoing in class and tried to be right all the time, but this school was filled with overly-competitive students just like her. Grades were just as important here as a National Show Choir Championship, and she had to fight to be heard in class, something she'd never had to do. Instead of being the unique, bossy, freaky, Rachel Berry, she was just another student in a sea of talented, competitive, over-achievers. She just blended in. And Rachel Berry had never just blended in before, _anywhere_.

But she put up with it. She had Jesse, she was on a championship winning team, and she was working harder than ever before.

Until the end of that second week. That's when her world had turned upside down.

She was at rehearsal, standing to the sides stretching while she watched Shelby chatting with Jesse. She knew today was choreography day for their new song, the one she hadn't received the solo for. Along the sidelines, she couldn't help but recognize a familiar voice behind her.

"Well, if it isn't Baby Barbara." Turning around slowly, her eyes almost bugged out of her face when she recognized Dakota Stanley. How could she forget that he was their choreographer? A distant memory flashed in her mind of the one practice her old team had attended with him, and how he'd ripped apart their self-esteem. Asshole.

"Frodo! How was your trip to Mordor?"

He smirked nastily at her quip and circled around her. "So, I see they got you too, huh?"

Placing her hand on her hips, she turned from him and gathered her things. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"They poached you, kid. Stole you away from Lima. It's their shtick, it seems. They like to steal away the best members of their competition so the group falls apart. I was hoping your little band of freaks would be immune to their charms, seeing as you were always spouting that 'we're special, we have true talent' crap. Besides, with the way you looked at Frankenteen, I was sure you two would wind up making freakishly tall, annoying, babies together."

She stood in front of Dakota Stanley with her mouth agape in shock. He was lying! There was no way that was true!

"You're a liar."

"Oh yeah? Which one did they send to get you, huh? Was it Davis, the guy who does the triple flip? Or was it St. James, the prodigal son?" Her heart started to pound so ferociously it was hurting her chest. She could hear the blood pounding in her ears and she started to shake from the adrenaline coursing through her system. "He sweeps you off your feet, makes the other kids jealous and then steals you away with promises of stardom. You're like, the third girl this year. It's a perfect plan, really."

"Shut up!" She covered her hands over her ears, trying desperately to block out the sound of his vicious voice. He was spouting lies, Jesse wouldn't use her like that! "I don't believe you!"

"Fine, if you don't believe me, ask Julie Summers!" He pointed to a girl sitting alone on the other part of the stage. "She transferred here from Columbus after Davis seduced her to transfer here. She found out about it and he kicked her out of his house. Her home team wouldn't take her back, so she stayed here. Now she sleeps on the wrestling mats in the gym closet." Rachel looked at the girl and could practically feel the despair radiating from her aura. She looked so sad, so broken. She could instantly feel the girl's pain; the heartbreak, the betrayal, the loneliness.

"You're telling the truth, aren't you?" She looked up at him like a kicked animal, knowing deep down that what he was saying was true. Jesse had been using her from the start. He'd ruined her relationship with Finn and the group. She's betrayed the only people who had ever been her friends.

He frowned at her, realizing that he'd just cracked the perfect veneer of the lie that had brought her to Carmel. "Ask him yourself, Baby Barbara. I just teach the dances." He whispered to her then, feeling sorry for the one girl who had ever stood up to Dakota Stanley. "Do it now, before you lose that spark that made you so memorable. You think I remember all the girls I tell to have nose jobs? If you wait too long, Frankenteen will have found another bride." He walked away from her then, clapping to get everyone's attention and start the rehearsal. She went through the motions, not really absorbing what was going on. She was in too much of a shock.

When rehearsal ended, Jesse came up to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder affectionately. She wanted to throw it off of her and twist it around until he screamed. Instead she just shook it off.

"What's wrong?"

"We need to talk when we get home."

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"You're a _liar_!" She screamed it from the top of her lungs in her room, she didn't care if his parents could hear it from the far wing of the house.

"Rachel, you're upset, you don't know what you're talking about." His hands were held up in front of him in defense and he was trying to get her to calm down. There was no calming down.

"I know exactly what I'm talking about! Tell me Jesse, why did you want to start dating me? Was it because you truly genuinely liked me? Or was it so you could steal me away from my team?"

His head bent down and his hands dropped to his sides. When he looked up, she could see the pain in his eyes. "It's true, Rachel. When I first met you, it was with the intentions of trying to steal you away from the team." Her breathing became stilted and she thought she would start hyperventilating. "But that was before I got to know you, Rachel. Now I know how truly amazing you are, and I've fallen in love with you. I really have."

"No! I can't believe a word that comes out of your mouth anymore. Everything that happened between you, me and Finn, it was all to steal me away from him. You wanted us to fight and have all that drama. You were trying to push us apart!" His silence was enough of an answer for her, she knew it had been the truth. "I want to go home"

He shook his head, firmly. "No."

"You can't keep me here against my will!" She saw him reaching for her cell phone, and he took it from her and slipped it in his pocket. "Give that back!"

"Rachel, think about it. What do you think will happen when you get back to Lima? Do you think the group is going to welcome you back with open arms? The girl who betrayed them for their arch rivals. Do you think Finn will just forgive you for choosing me and Vocal Adrenaline over him and New Directions? Honestly." He was condescending, smarmy, and rude, but he was right. She'd screwed over the team, royally, and now she wanted to go back? It was impossible. No one would ever forgive her. She would be kicked out of the group, and then what would be the point? "Rachel, I still love you. I know I lied to you about my intentions, but after everything that's happened, I still want you to stay here in Carmel. With me. You don't need to go home. Carmel can be your new home. Forget about Lima, Rachel. Carmel is your future."

She thought about his words as she sunk deeper and deeper into despair. She had been manipulated more times than she could count, and no matter how many lies were thrown at her she still couldn't see the truth. She was so confused and tired of the emotional games. There was no way Finn would ever forgive her for what she'd done to him and the team. She allowed herself to be turned against him. She slept with the one boy who'd loved her more than anything, then broke his heart over manipulations and lies. She'd left the group that the two of them had built together from scratch. She'd betrayed everything Finn had ever offered her. His heart, his love, his group. He must _hate_ her.

There was no going back. She'd dug this hole for herself, and now she had to live with the consequences.

"Fine. I'll stay."

That was the first two weeks. Since then, Rachel had just gone through the motions of school and rehearsal. Since Regionals was coming up soon, she spent all of her time at rehearsals. Nights, weekends, no matter what time or day it was, she had Vocal Adrenaline on the brain.

Jesse and her weren't as close after she found out the truth about his intentions. They still walked the halls together and studied and practiced, but gone was the emotional connection they'd shared before. She wouldn't allow him to touch her or kiss her anymore. She knew that even if he did have feelings for her, her feelings for him had completely dissipated. She was staying with him only because she was afraid of her other options. Would Jesse kick her out on the streets, like Julie Summers? She had no phone, no internet, no money, and no way to contact her dads. She was completely dependent on Jesse and his parents. Even the school computers had emails blocked, so she couldn't contact anyone from school. She had no other choice but to stay in Carmel.

So the weeks passed. By the time she'd been in Lima for a full month, she felt like a completely different person. She was so exhausted all the time; the rehearsals had been so intense it felt like she'd been running marathons everyday. She stopped eating some meals in order to fit into her tight costumes for Regionals and she'd lost weight. She wanted to sleep more than anything, but when night came, that was the time she allowed herself to think of Finn and everything she'd lost. She would think about the way it felt to be in a group where she was respected and loved. She would think about the way Finn would smile at her and make her feel like a star. No one here made her feel like a star. Here, she was nobody. At least in Lima, people knew who Rachel Berry was, even if no one really liked her.

She felt lost, like a part of her was missing. After a month away from home, she didn't even feel like herself anymore.

So at night, she thought about the one person who'd made her feel like Rachel Berry the star. The boy who'd held her heart in his hands. The one who had loved her mind, body and soul. The one she let touch her like no one else had. The boy she'd made love to, the one who'd loved her in return.

At night she thought about Finn Hudson, and how he'd never love her again.

Little did she know that in her hometown of Lima, Ohio, Finn Hudson stayed up at night and thought about Rachel the exact same way.

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Salut mes amis!

An angsty chapter of angst! I know Finn wasn't in this chappy, but the next one will be EPIC!

Until Next Time. . .*sings* Don't Stop. . .Reviewing!

Merci Mille Fois

The Minsk


	10. Save Me

DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. They are the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. This is purely for fun. Enjoy. :)

A/N: For future reference, The Minsk is not fond of reviews where people imply there's not enough citrus for an M rated story. There will be citrus when I say there will be citrus. If you want a lot of citrus, read **Touch Me** or **Just Friends**. If you want a smutfic, go to livejournal and search for one, or read one of the million Puckleberry ones and pretend it's Finn. What I write is my art. If you don't have respect for my art, then don't read my stories. The CONTENT is mature, so therefore, it's rated M.

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Sex, Lies, and Glee

Chapter Ten: Save Me

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Finn sat on the bus, trying his hardest not to fidget around like a crack addict without his fix. He was filled with nervous energy, and he couldn't sit still. Looking out the window, he gazed at the trees and farms that they passed along the highway. A sign caught his eye, and he smiled when he realized that he was only two exits away from Carmel.

The past month had been torture for Finn. He'd missed Rachel so much; she was the first thing he thought about in the morning, and the last thing he thought about at night. Her transfer to Carmel had been a huge blow to his self-esteem and the confidence of the entire group. No one really thought they had a chance anymore at Regionals without Rachel, but they wouldn't accept defeat. They'd auditioned new kids to fill the space that Rachel had left behind, and they'd found a replacement. However, she was nowhere near as good as Rachel was. And she was on the wrestling team, so she had to miss practice a lot.

But the group was still alive and kicking. They wouldn't give up. Some of them were hoping that Rachel would see the error of her ways and come back. Others expected her to have found the stardom she'd been craving all along and wipe the floor with them at Regionals.

He just hoped she was happy. She deserved to be happy after everything he'd put her through.

He'd pushed her away. No matter how hard he'd tried to reconnect with her and prove that he loved her, she'd still chosen Jesse over him. It was his fault she'd left, and now he had to live with the consequences. Which was why he'd been working the team harder than ever. He filed in the role that Rachel had left vacant in her wake. Part of him only wanted to compete at Regionals so he could see her again.

He refused to give up on her. He needed to know she was okay. That's why he'd started writing the letters.

At first, it had just been one. He wrote the first letter as an apology, begging for her forgiveness and return to Lima. But when he'd never heard from her after that, he'd started writing to her as a form of therapy. Even if she never opened them, or threw them away, writing to Rachel had helped him get the jumble of emotions out of his head on a daily basis. But as the days passed, he'd never heard from her. But he wouldn't give up. In his last few letters, he'd mentioned that he was playing an away game at Carmel this afternoon, and to meet him by the buses if she wanted to see him. Now that he was mere miles away from her school, he shook in anticipation to see her. What would they say? How would she look? He'd missed her so much he was starting to forget how pretty her hair was or how expressive her eyes were. Would she even want to see him? Would she even know he was there? He didn't care if he had to search the school for her, he would find her.

When the bus pulled up in front of the school, it felt like he couldn't breathe, he was so anxious. What happened if she wasn't there? Had she really thrown out his letters? Did she hate him that much? All he could do was take a deep breath as he stepped out of the bus and into the afternoon sun, hoping that Rachel would be there to meet him.

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"Well, you know, I think it's a shame that we don't perform more songs from operettas. Think of what we could do with Gilbert and Sullivan. _The Pirates of Penzance_ is a genius show!" Rachel frowned at the chorus of "oohs" and "ahhs" that Jesse received every time he opened his mouth. People here treated him like he was God's gift or something, and she was getting tired of it, fast. But he was her only friend here, so she put up with the pontificating and the ego. She was too afraid of ending up like Julie Summers to stand up to him, and he was still treating her like she was a princess, so she really couldn't complain.

They were walking down the hall together, surrounded by a bunch of his friends. In the past week he'd been trying to get back on her good graces since she'd found out the truth behind his intentions; he tried holding her hand and walking her to classes, but she wasn't having it. She'd refused to touch him at all, and would only walk with him when they were with other people so he couldn't try anything funny with her. So, now Jesse had his own entourage that walked with them everywhere so she never had to be alone with him. Some days she felt bad for him; he was trying so hard to get back into her good graces and she'd refused every advance. Other days, she wanted to pull out his hair and escape on the first bus back to Lima. But with no money and no way of getting in touch with anyone, she was stuck.

She was starting to think of this place as her own personal prison. Jesse and Shelby watched her like a hawk at all times; she was never left alone and she was always busy. Whether it was school or glee club, she always had something to keep her distracted. Regionals was only three weeks away, and Vocal Adrenaline practiced non-stop. She was so tired, so exhausted. She wanted to go home, but as far as she knew, everyone at home hated her for her betrayal. She'd received no contact from Lima since the day she left four weeks ago.

Jesse said something else that must have been _so_ hilarious, because the people around her all started to laugh while Jesse smiled smugly and flipped his hair around. She curled her lip in disgust. What had she ever seen in him? She gazed out the windows of the school as they were passing by one of the main entrances, when a yellow school bus caught her eye.

A yellow school bus that said "Lima Public Schools" on it.

Her heart started to pound furiously in her chest as adrenaline entered her system in waves. Someone she knew had to be on that bus! Even if it was someone who'd hated her, like Karofsky or Azemio or someone, maybe she could talk them into giving someone a message for her. A message that said "get me the hell out of here!"

The school bus pulled up to the gym doors, and she noticed Coach Tanaka get out and unload gear from the bus. Just the sight of a familiar face from home was enough to make tears spring into her eyes. She had to know if someone else she knew was on that bus! She looked over at Jesse, who was so self-absorbed with his friends that he didn't notice Rachel separating from the pack, and headed for the front doors. Once she got out of the school she ran towards the bus, praying that someone she knew was there. She was gasping for breath as she approached the bus, and when she saw the first student step out, she thought she would faint.

It was Finn.

"Finn!" She screamed, unable to keep the anguish out of her tone. She didn't care if he hated her. She didn't care if he thought she was a back-stabbing slut, all that mattered was that Finn Hudson was standing in front of her, in the flesh. His head shot up and it looked like his eyes would bug out of his face. "_Finn_!" She screamed again, this time fighting through tears. She ran to him at full speed, colliding with his chest like a linebacker. But he braced himself with all of his weight and caught her in his arms.

"Rachel?!" Oh god, the sound of his voice! How she'd missed it! She wrapped her arms around his waist and held onto him for dear life. She felt his arms wrap around her, and it felt like her heart was soaring. She felt alive, for the first time in a month. His presence was like a salve for her battered soul. "Rachel, I can't believe you're here! You got them?"

Looking up at him curiously from the safety of his arms, she hadn't understood what he'd meant. "Got what?"

"My letters, Rachel." Letters? He'd written to her? His face grew serious when she shook her head in confusion. "You never got them? Rachel, I wrote to you everyday for a whole month and you never received a single letter?" She couldn't believe what he was saying. He'd been keeping in contact with her? "How did you know I was going to be here today?"

"I saw the bus pull up in front of the school on my way to rehearsal." His head drooped down a little when she said "rehearsal," but she continued on. "I was praying that someone I knew would be on this bus, and here you are!" She hugged him again, tighter this time, and couldn't control the unbridled joy that flowed through her in Finn's arms. The joy quickly turned to panic when she remembered why seeing someone from Lima had been so important. "Finn, I need your help." He pulled away from her with a hesitant look on his face.

"What is it, Rachel? Why didn't you get my letters? I thought you'd been throwing them out." She shook her head, not knowing the answer. Had Jesse been keeping Finn's letters from her? That was the only reason she could think of. First her cell phone, now her mail? Carmel really _was_ like a prison.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to tell him everything she'd been going through and how she wanted to go home, someone came up behind her and placed a well-manicured hand on her shoulder.

It was Shelby.

"Rachel, you're late for rehearsal. You know how we feel about lateness in Vocal Adrenaline." She froze in fear. She needed Finn to get her out of this hell, but Shelby was _right there_. Finn grabbed onto her again, not wanting to let her go. But she nodded at him, and leaned into his chest for another strong hug. This was her only chance.

She stood on her tip-toes to give him a short kiss on the cheek. She quickly whispered "Save me!" into his ear, as she felt Shelby dragging her away from Finn by the sleeve of her blouse. She made eye contact with him one more time, trying to convey all the pain and torture she felt in that one desperate look. He stared at her, wide-eyed and confused, and she could only hope the message went through as she was being pulled into the auditorium for another torturous rehearsal.

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_"Save me!"_ Rachel's terrified voice rang in Finn's ears while he tried to focus on the game in front of him. Puck passed him the ball, and instead of maneuvering around his defense, he passed the ball right back to Puck, hoping the quick change of direction would throw the Carmel defense off. It had worked. Puck's defense ran off after the pass had been made, and Puck was open to score from his position. That had been a close call.

He couldn't believe that she hadn't received a single one of his letters. All that time he'd worried that she was furious with him, that she _hated_ him, she hadn't even been aware that the letters existed. He had a sinister feeling that Jesse had been keeping her mail away from her, something that filled him with pure anger. He had to do something!

_"Save me!"_ Her voice rang again in his mind, and he could feel the goosebumps rising on his arms at the panic he'd heard in her frantic tone. The look in her eyes as she was being pulled away from him was haunting his vision. Instead of the game, all he could see was her scared face, begging him to understand something she hadn't had the time to say.

She wanted him to save her, but why? Hadn't she been happy here, with Jesse and Vocal Adrenaline? Isn't that what she'd wanted? What she'd left him for? But he couldn't help but think of how thin she looked and how tired she seemed. It was like that spark, that pure, Rachel Berry spark, had been burnt out. She was like a shadow of herself. It made him uneasy. Something here in Carmel was not right.

He had to know what had happened to her.

He had to save her.

When the game ended, and the bus drove Finn and the team back to Lima, he ran to his car and got right back on the highway, driving faster than he'd ever driven before.

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__"I wrote to you everyday for a whole month and you never received a single letter?"_ Finn's voice echoed in her head as she tried to focus on arabesques and rond de jambes at rehearsal. She heard Shelby's shrill voice bring the rehearsal to a halt as she joined the team on stage and picked apart the blocking.

"Follow Jesse, everyone! I don't know what's so hard about that! Maybe if you all worked as hard as Jesse did, we wouldn't have these problems." She rolled her eyes from the back row of the ensemble. It was like the kid crapped puppies and pissed rainbows. "Again! Front row, do it first! I don't care if we have to do it line by line!" She watched from the fourth row as the first row did the choreography for Shelby. She stopped them midway and had Jesse mime the choreography for them again. She sighed. If she did this for every row, they'd be here until morning.

That's when she got an idea. While the rest of the group was busy with Shelby's criticism, she slithered over to the door as quietly as she could. Exiting the stage, she didn't hesitate a second before running out of the school for the second time that day. This time, she headed straight for the St. James' residence.

She _had_ to find those letters.

She knew while she was running that Jesse and Shelby would eventually realize she was gone. They would go looking for her, and she would only have this one chance at a decent head start.

Running until she thought she would collapse from the lack of air, she took deep, heaving breaths, trying to pump her feet forward as fast as she could. Soon they would be figuring out that she'd escaped from the prison, and her guard would be after her. Reaching the front of the St. James' property, she pushed through the giant double doors into the huge house.

She immediately went to the parts of the house she'd never been allowed in; the living room, the kitchen, the bedrooms. She'd never been in Jesse's house alone before, and she'd always followed their one rule about wandering around the house, so she panicked as she went from one room to another, trying to find her letters in foreign territory.

She rummaged through every drawer and bureau in the house, and still couldn't find a thing with her name on it. She finally came across a small table in the hallway near the kitchen and opened up the drawers. In the corner of one of them was a large pile of envelopes, all bound together with a rubber band. She picked up the stack of envelopes and read the front of them.

They were all for her. And they were all addressed from Finn.

Some of them were opened, while most of them stayed sealed. She looked through them and realized that there were over two dozen envelopes in her hands. Looking at the postmarks, she realized that he'd told her the truth; he'd been writing to her every day for almost an entire month.

She ran to her room in the far wing of the house, closing her door behind her and sealing herself off from the outside world. She sat on her floor and started to read every single letter he'd written her. Immediately she recognized his clumsy scrawl and poor spelling. She could barely see through her tears as she absorbed what he'd written to her in her absence.  
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__Dear Rachel, I know this is kind of lame, writing letters and mailing it when I could call your cell or email you, but this seems, different, I guess. More personal maybe? You're probably just going to throw them away, I don't know, I just wanted to make sure you're okay. . .__  
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__Dear Rachel, I totally get that you're going to be a star now. You always said your dreams were bigger than me, I just never believed you cause I'm a pretty big guy. . .__  
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__Dear Rachel, I went a whole day without kicking any furniture over! I think I might be getting better. . .__  
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__Dear Rachel, I miss you. Every day. I think about you and how you're probably going to pwn us at Regionals, but I don't care. I would give anything to hear you sing again, even if you're wiping the floor with us. . .__  
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__Dear Rachel, I want you to come home. I know it's selfish, but why can't I ever be the selfish one?. . .__  
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__Dear Rachel, It's been two whole weeks and I'm still in love with you. I realized it today when I saw these leggings in the mall with kittens on it, and I knew immediately that you would like them. I was going to buy them for you, and then I remembered that you were gone. I almost kicked over the display because of kitty leggings. If that's not love, I don't know what is!. . .__  
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__Dear Rachel, I hope Jesse is treating you right. I can be in Carmel in an hour if you need me to beat him up for you. . .__  
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__Dear Rachel, Why haven't you written back to me? Maybe you really did just throw my letters away, but I'll keep writing. You know I don't give up easily!__. . .  
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__Dear Rachel, I'm going to be in Carmel next week! I would love to see you, if you're not busy. Or if you ever get this letter. . ._

The letters went on and on in the same fashion. Everyday he had something different to write about. He wrote about how much he missed her and wanted her to come home. He wrote about the team and how the group's morale was falling apart without her. She laughed when she read about who they'd found to replace her, and could imagine Finn singing with the girl who made out with her cats and watched Ghost Whisperer.

A burning, fierce anger flowed through her after she finished reading all of Finn's letters. Jesse had hid these from her on purpose! If she had known that Finn and the team had missed her this much, she would have left ages ago! Jesse had been manipulating her still, making her think that the team would never accept her back so she would stay in Carmel. Was there no end to the lies?

"Found you."

She screamed in earnest when she looked up from her position on her floor and into the shining blue eyes of Jesse St. James, standing menacingly over her. He smirked at her nastily.

"Whatcha reading?"

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Salut mes amis!

WHAT A CLIFFIE!

Until Next Time. . .*sings* Don't Stop. . .Reviewing!

Merci Mille Fois

The Minsk


	11. Set Me Free

DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. They are the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. This is purely for fun. Enjoy! :)

A/N: I'm glad you all enjoyed the nail biting tension, get ready for the explosion. . .

**WARNING: DARK THEMES AHEAD**

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Sex, Lies, and Glee

Chapter Eleven: Set Me Free

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Fear. She had always been afraid of something or another in her young life. When she was a young girl, she'd been afraid of the dark; so much that she'd had night-lights in every electrical socket of her room, and her dad's had had to do official closet and under-the-bed checks in order for her to get to sleep at night. When she was a little bit older than that, she'd found out that she was afraid of heights, something she'd learned on her first flight to New York for her 10th birthday present. She'd clung to her dad's the entire time, fearing the plane would fall out of the sky.

But now, sitting on the floor, watching Jesse St. James stand over her menacingly while she was trapped away from the world, she'd never known a fear quite like this.

She was terrified. Absolutely, bone chillingly, terrified.

"Whatcha reading?" He grinned at her nastily, and she picked herself up off the floor, trying to straighten herself out as much as she could. She clutched the last letter she'd read to her chest, trying to pull strength from the letter that was written to her from her one true love.

"You _bastard_." Her voice was pure venom. "You hid these letters from me."

He smirked and shrugged his shoulders, walking towards her slowly. She backed up from him until she was up against her bedpost. "How did you find out about them?"

She held her head high, looking him straight in the eye. "I saw Finn today. He told me about them. He's coming back here to save me and get me out of this hell!"

His face contorted into a mask of anger as he ripped the letter out of her hands. "Oh really? You really think he's going to come save you? The girl who fucked him and betrayed him the day after?" His words still stung, but she was done with being manipulated by Jesse St. James. She saw through everything he said now.

"Shut up! Your words are _poison_! You tell nothing but lies! I want the truth, Jesse. I want to know why you went through all of this to keep me here!"

He scoffed at her, and came back over to her, grabbing her by the upper arms, and making her heart pound like a rabbit's. "I don't get it, Rachel. I just don't understand you. At first, you were just another girl. Another mission. Do you know how many girls I've stolen from other teams? I would meet these girls and _blink_ at them, and they would take off their panties in a heartbeat for me." He laughed bitterly, while she found nothing humorous about it at all. "Then I met you. I thought it would be the most simple mission yet, but you'd refused me every single time. No matter how many times I tried, you wouldn't have me. _Me_, Jesse St. James. It's ludicrous!" His laugh bubbled up again, surprising her with it's bitterness and sending chills of fear down her spine. He started to shake her by the shoulders. "_Do you know who I am?_ People would kill to be with me, but for you, it was never enough. And then, to know that I came second fiddle to Finn Hudson? _Finn Hudson?_" The look in his eyes was almost crazy, she'd never seen someone act like this before. His grip on her arms tightened, ans she could feel the tears welling in her eyes. He was hurting her, and she was terrified.

"Jesse, you're _hurting_ me."

"I love you, Rachel." The words shocked her, seeing as he was currently holding her against her will and squeezing her by the arms. But his eyes had softened, and his grip on her arms relaxed a bit. "I do. So I turned you against Finn. I wanted you to forget about him and be with me, but I wasn't enough for you. I was trying to break you, so that you would come to me and find comfort in my arms, but you never did. Why wasn't I _ever_ enough? What is so special about Finn Hudson that makes him better than me?" He started to get angry again, and she was panicking like a trapped animal. "I don't _get it_! He's as dumb as dirt, he dances like an amputee, and he can barely carry a tune. How is he better than me, huh? Why can't you love me?"

She shook her head, not knowing the answer. On paper, she and Jesse should have been a perfect match. But she knew in her heart that she could never love Jesse, no matter how hard he forced her to.

"You can't force someone to love them, Jesse. I love Finn and I always have. I always will." Her eyes shrunk into slits, and she sneered at him, "Besides, Finn is a real, chivalrous man, who would never do what you've done to me. You're nothing but a lying, manipulating, control freak!"

His blue eyes could have been ice cubes with the coldness in his stare, and she could feel his grip tighten even more on her arms. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as he frowned deeply at her, not liking her answer. "Control freak? You're damn right I'm a control freak. Do you know what my life is like? Sex, lies, and glee club. That's my life, Rachel. That's what I do for the club, so we can be winners. It's all about the competition. And I'm finally going to win the game that Finn and I started. I'll have you no matter what!"

She screamed as she felt him throw her onto her bed, her head hitting the headboard with a loud bang. She felt disoriented, and her vision went momentarily blurry as she felt him crawl onto her bed. She thought she would have a heart attack. He grabbed her body and pulled it towards him as she struggled to regain her focus. She felt dizzy, and barely noticed when his hands started to roam on her body. She tried to push him away, but his grip on her tightened. His hands trailed up her waist, and grabbed her breasts. She screamed "No!" as he tore her shirt open, the tiny buttons of her blouse flying across her sheets with a "pop". She felt exposed to the world as his hands grabbed her chest roughly, and she feared the very worse.

_Oh God, he's going to rape me._

She tried to fight back, she really did. She tried to kick and bite and scratch but no matter what she did, she couldn't get him off of her. She could feel his hands grabbing her all over her body, in places that she'd only ever allowed Finn to touch. She could feel him clawing at her skirt, trying to get underneath it to her panties, and she clamped her legs together as tightly as she could. Tears were pouring from her face, and she tried desperately to escape him.

But he was too strong. She was too weak to fight him anymore. She screamed one final time and could feel the dizziness grow thicker and thicker in her head. She was sure the adrenaline pumping through her veins was the only thing keeping her conscious as she gave up all hope of salvation and succumbed to his grasp.

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A disturbing sense of deja vu swept over Finn as he looked down the long, dark stretch of highway in front of him and saw the same sign for Carmel for the second time that day. Only 20 more miles and he would be able to get to Rachel; he needed to know what was so bad about Carmel that would make her want to leave. That would warrant him having to "save" her. What did she need saving from? A thought struck his mind and he gripped the steering wheel in suppressed rage. Was it _Jesse_? Had Jesse done something to her? Was he treating her badly? Panic and fear consumed him, and his foot pressed down harder on the accelerator as he prayed that no cops pulled him over. He needed to get to Carmel.

He had a bad feeling about this.

Something was wrong. Rachel should have been happy in Carmel. It made sense. She'd always wanted to be on a winning team, and she'd had the perfect opportunity to do so here. So what went wrong?

He saw the exit ramp for Carmel, and pulled off the highway, driving into town and pulling into a gas station. He wasn't familiar with the town, and even though he knew the address, he had no clue where to go. After asking the gas attendant for directions, he peeled off into the night, searching through the suburban streets to find the St. James' property.

Finally, he saw the street, turning and coming across a huge property with tall tress lining the estate. He pulled into the driveway, marveling at the bastard's luck. He was talented, charming,_ and_ rich? Not fair.

He got out of the car and went to the front doors, not really knowing what to do next. He couldn't just barge into someones house uninvited, could he? He was about to awkwardly knock on the door when a noise captured his attention.

It sounded like a girl, screaming.

It sounded like _Rachel_, screaming.

Immediately, he forgot all common rules of courtesy and threw himself into the house, flying through the giant wood doors and entering the largest house he'd ever been in. He looked around, and no one was there, he was all alone in the giant foyer. He heard a loud thud, but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. He didn't even know where to start looking, he knew this was a two-story house, and she could be anywhere. But another scream, this time a loud "No!", coming from the back of the house on the ground floor, had him running in right direction.

He came across a long hallway, leading to a wing of the house that was separate from the main part. He heard a blood-curdling scream that made his hackles rise, as he ran down the hallway towards the sound of Rachel's voice. Finally, he ran to the door at the far end of the corridor, and burst in without preamble.

What he saw filled him with pure, unadulterated rage.

In front of him, on a large, pink ruffled bed, Jesse had Rachel pinned down, and there were signs of a struggle. Her shirt was ripped open, exposing her bra. He held her body down under him while his hands were reaching under her skirt. He could see tears streaming down her face, and her eyes were closed. A blinding rage, like nothing he'd ever felt before, flowed through him and filled him with a thirst for blood and revenge.

He ran to the bed, grabbing onto Jesse's shirt and pulling his body off of Rachel's. He threw him towards the closet, where he hit the door with a loud thud. Jesse looked up and locked eyes with Finn, a nasty smile forming on his lips. "Well, you actually came."

"You're damn right I came. What the hell did you think you were doing?" He looked over at Rachel on the bed and she was barely aware that she was free from Jesse's grasp. Her eyes were unfocused, and she looked like she was going to pass out. "What have you done to her!" He picked Jesse off of the floor by his collar, dragging his limp body until he could look into his eyes. He shook the bastard until his head flopped around. "Tell me!"

"She hit her head. She's a frisky one." Finn pulled back his fist and landed a hard punch to Jesse's gut, grinning as he watched him bend over in pain and gasp for air. He quickly dodged a punch aiming for his face, as Jesse tried to both gasp for air and fight back.

"You bastard! You were trying to _rape_ her!" Jesse came forward to land a punch, but Finn used his momentum to fling him into Rachel's dressers. Jesse fell to the floor, completely unprotected. He moved forward and started to kick him in the stomach until he curled into the fetal position, protecting his vitals. All he wanted to do was kick and punch and hit until he saw red; this asshole had tried to hurt Rachel! He would have raped her if he hadn't been there! He continued to kick Jesse until he was a shaking mass on the floor, when he felt a small weight on his arm.

He turned around sharply, so full of adrenaline and rage that he was ready to strike out at whomever had interrupted his vengeance. But he came back to his senses as he looked down into the wide, scared, eyes of Rachel. His beautiful, singing angel. She was holding her body tightly, her arms wrapped around her chest trying to hide her body from view. Her shirt was ripped to shreds, and he could see small purple bruises on her upper arms. Her face was beat red and streaked with tears. She was sobbing, and shaking. He stopped kicking Jesse and pulled her away from him. Jesse made no move to get off of the floor.

"Stop, Finn. Please, just get me out of here." He looked over at Jesse, wanting to go back over to him and punish him further for everything he'd done to Rachel, but he paused when he saw the look of pure anguish on her face. "I want to go home."

He nodded, putting up his hands and walking away from Jesse. He waited patiently as Rachel packed up her things. He stood over Jesse, watching him, waiting for him to make a move so he would have an excuse to kick his ass even more. But he stayed on the floor, breathing heavily. He thought he could hear crying.

After Rachel changed her clothes and packed, she stood in front of him with her bags and held out a hand for him to take. When their fingers intertwined, he could feel the anger slowly dissipating from his mind. He felt calmer, and more level headed. A lot less blood thirsty.

As the anger slowly melted away, he could see Jesse try and stand up from the corner of the room. He pushed Rachel behind him, ready to fight him again if necessary, but Jesse just slumped over in defeat. He looked up at Rachel with tears in his eyes.

"Rachel, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. . ."

Finn interrupted him with a booming roar, "Don't you _dare_ talk to her! If I ever see your face outside of a competition again, I will _kill_ you. What you did to Rachel was unforgivable, and I hope you live forever knowing how much of a scumbag you are. You're lucky we don't get a lawyer." He could feel Rachel clutching onto Finn's shirt as he led her out of the house that had kept her a prisoner for so long.

The second they exited the house, she collapsed onto his arms in wailing sobs. She cried as they pulled out of the driveway and onto the street. She cried as they traveled through town and headed towards the highway. But before they'd entered the on-ramp, she forced him to turn around.

"Rachel, are you insane? We are getting out of this town as fast as we can."

"No we have to stop by the school. There's someone else we need to save tonight."

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She was so tired. So overwhelmingly exhausted she was surprised she was even still awake. It had to be past two in the morning, but their extra long trip had been worth it. She couldn't leave Carmel knowing that another girl was suffering just as much as she'd been. They'd found Julie Summers at the high school, and drove her to the bus stop, giving her enough money to get back to Columbus and her family. No one should ever have to suffer how Julie and Rachel had suffered, and Rachel planned on writing a long and detailed letter to the Ohio Show Choir Board of Directors on Carmel's competitive tactics. They were a bunch of lying, manipulating cheaters, who'd probably never deserved a single award.

She curled into Finn's chest, breathing in the scent of him, surrounded by his body and his love. She shuddered to think of what would have happened if Finn hadn't come to save her, and she owed him her life. If Jesse had actually succeeded, she would never have been the same. She owed her very essence to Finn.

She'd refused to go home. She didn't want to have to go through with the whole interrogation that she was sure would follow after her long absence, so she'd asked to stay at Finn's. She looked up at his face and couldn't tell if he was sleeping in the dark. She should be sleeping too, but every time she closed her eyes she saw Jesse's malicious blue ones, staring at her and making her feel uncomfortable. She shuddered again, and she felt Finn's arms wrap around her tightly.

"Rachel?" His voice was thick with fatigue and worry. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "No." the tears started to flow again. How could she be okay? She'd been lied to, manipulated, controlled, almost raped. She buried her head in his chest and cried until she thought her tears would run dry. "He almost. . ."

His voice was firm and steady. "But he didn't."

Her voice raised an octave in hysteria. "But he could have. . ."

"I know, but I was there to stop him."

"But what if you hadn't been there, Finn?"

She felt him lean over and press his lips against her forehead, calming her down slightly. "I know. I've been thinking the same thing, non-stop since we left Carmel. But there's no use in thinking about what could have been. All that matters is that I made it in time."

"Finn, I love you so much. I'm so sorry for being manipulated into leaving you. I'm sorry about everything."

"Rachel, you don't have to apologize. None of this was your fault." He held her close to him and stroked her hair tenderly. "I love you, too." His head tilted down until their lips pressed together in the softest of kisses. She felt a certain peace wash over her in that moment. She'd been through quite the ordeal, but in Finn's arms, in the shadow of his love, she knew she would be alright. As long as she had Finn, things would get better.

As long as she had Finn, she was free.

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Salut mes amis!

I know things got a bit dark, but Finn to the rescue!

**Final chapter** up next time! Until then. . .*sings* Don't Stop. . .Reviewing!

Merci Mille Fois

The Minsk


	12. Epilogue

DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. They are the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. This is purely for fun. Enjoy! :)

A/N: **FINAL CHAPTER** I hope you all liked Sex, Lies, and Glee. Enjoy the epilogue! **CITRUS ALERT**

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Sex, Lies, and Glee

Epilogue

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**ONE MONTH LATER**

"I am exhausted!" Rachel sighed as she plopped down onto her bed after a long evening at rehearsal. Compared to her stay in Carmel, tonight's rehearsal had been a cake walk, but she still said these kind of exclamations to make it seem like she was as tired as everyone else. She smiled as Finn joined her on the bed, curling his body around hers in a tight hug.

"No you're not. You look like you could run a marathon." She smiled softly at him while he yawned widely. He was right, she wasn't tired in the least. But she still leaned into his embrace, and snuggled into his inviting chest, feeling his love surround her and calm her down.

"It's not my fault we barely have to practice anymore!" She was mock-offended.

"Um, yeah it is!" She smiled widely. It actually _was_ her fault they didn't have to practice that much anymore. When Rachel had returned home, she told her dads, Mr. Schuester, and Principal Figgins everything that had happened during her stay in Carmel. Her dads had been unaware of any foul play, because they always spoke with Jesse's parents when they called to check up on her. Apparently the St. James' had been in on it as well, because they had always reported that Rachel was happy and healthy, when she had been truly sleep deprived and malnourished. When her fathers learned the truth, they hired their ACLU lawyer and opened up a class action law suit against the Carmel School District. Rachel got in contact with Julie Summers, who had agreed to testify against them. The two of them were able to track down the other students who had been poached from other schools, and Rachel and Julie were dedicated to getting the justice they deserved. The two of them both testified against Carmel, and their Glee Club was disbanded. Vocal Adrenaline was no more. Their national titles were stripped, and Shelby Corcoran was fired.

"You're right, it totally is!" They shared a laugh. Now that Vocal Adrenaline was out of the picture, they were able to dominate Regionals, and were now on their way to the State Championships. She felt Finn nuzzle the top of her head affectionately.

"You did a great thing, Rachel. Filing that law suit." She blushed and hid her face in Finn's chest so he couldn't see her. She'd been so scared to step forward and admit to everyone in her life the terrible choices she'd made and their consequences, but it had all been worth it. She had received justice for Jesse's manipulations and lies, and now she was home where she belonged.

"As long as we never have to deal with anyone from Carmel again, I'll be happy." Immediately she though of Jesse, who had more than enough reason to come back into her life and cause drama. She never admitted to anyone about what had almost happened between them during that final night in Carmel. The only person who knew about it was Finn, and he'd promised not to tell anyone about it. Instead, she savored the fact that his name had been dragged through the mud throughout the law suit and his scholarship had been taken away from him from UCLA. She remembered clearly having to hold back Finn from doing more bodily harm to him when they would exit the court room after the daily proceedings. It had been a week-long trial, and Finn had glared daggers at Jesse the entire time. Jesse knew to stay far away from Rachel if he wanted to have all of his organs in tact.

"That bastard knows I'll kill him if I ever see his face again. I hope he's smart enough to stay the hell away from Lima." She nodded against Finn's chest and tried to clear her mind of all the negativity. She didn't like thinking about Carmel and Jesse St. James. It made her have flashbacks to that horrific night, and what could have happened if Finn hadn't been there to save her.

"You were, like, a superhero that night, you know?" She could feel his light chuckle reverberating around her body while buried in his chest.

"Oh yeah? How so?"

She playfully slapped his arm, giggling at his need for details. "Well, you made it just in time, you beat up the bad guy, and saved the girl." She pulled away from his chest to look up into his deep brown eyes. The eyes she would dream of when she'd been losing hope. They eyes that had saved her from her nightmares. "I wouldn't be here if not for you, Finn. I owe you everything." She reached up and placed a soft, delicate kiss on his lips. He held her close to him, not wanting her to let go as she deepened the kiss and melted into it. His hands rubbed her back and sides, making her body erupt in goosebumps at his father-soft caresses.

"Rachel, we have to promise each other: no more lies, ever. I never want to lose you again. Even if it's something stupid, like copying Brittany on a math quiz or fighting over a solo, we have to always be honest with each other."

Grabbing his hand, she smiled and nodded. "I promise, Finn. No more lies."

"Forever?" She liked the way he said "forever". He said it like he meant it.

"Forever." And with that one promise of never-ending honesty their lips crashed together for a second time, this time more rough and needy. She could feel Finn's hesitation; he wouldn't touch her on her body and his kisses weren't as passionate as they could have been. She knew that he was holding back on purpose. He was afraid to push things with her. She hadn't been intimate with Finn since the very first time, when she'd lost her virginity to him. The night of the Spring Fling, something that seemed like it had happened in a different lifetime. She felt so different now, she'd changed. A month as a prisoner against her will was enough to do that to a person. But no matter what had happened, she knew in her heart that she had the strength to move on. Rachel Barbara Berry was no quitter.

She was not going to let what happened between her and Jesse ruin the one pure, loving, relationship she'd ever had. Finn was everything to her: her past, her present, and her future.

His hands were tenderly holding her sides, and she placed her hands over his, moving them to different parts of her body. She knew that he would never have made the first move. He'd been treating her like she was made of porcelain, trying his hardest not to push her or make her uncomfortable. She'd appreciated it, especially in the beginning, but it had almost been a month.

And girls had needs, too!

She reveled in the feeling of his hands on her body, touching her in the places that only he was ever allowed to touch. He fondled and caressed her breasts so softly she couldn't control the moans that escaped her mouth. She sounded needy and wanton.

Oh, God how she'd missed this!

She felt bold, and let her hands wander on his body, trailing lower and lower until she had her hands by his pants, reaching for the zipper. They broke apart and took a second to remove their clothes until they were naked, blushing under each others stare.

"You're so beautiful, Rachel." He reached a hand out to her, taking hers and laying down so that she wouldn't be crushed underneath him. She closed her eyes and marveled at how he was able to make her feel like Carmel had been just a bad dream. She thought she'd be damaged forever from what Jesse had put her and Finn through, but they were able to mend the damage with their love.

"How can you say that after everything I put you through?" A single tear fell down her cheek at the memories of her betrayal. How she'd slept with him and left him with nothing but a note before leaving him. How she'd allowed herself to be constantly manipulated time and again by the silver-tongued snake that was Jesse St. James. She could feel his lips on her cheek as he kissed the tear away.

"Because I love you, Rachel. Jesse manipulated us both. And he'll never bother us again. I won't ever let him."

She smiled, knowing it was a fact. "I love you too, Finn."

Their lips crashed together again, as Rachel felt Finn move to grab a condom from her night table. She could feel the excitement growing inside of her at the thought of being with him again, intimately like this. His hands were everywhere on her body now, building up the delicious tension she felt inside of her as her hands roamed on his broad chest as well. She gasped audibly as he slipped his fingers inside of her, torturing her blissfully as he readied her for more. She saw stars in her eyes as the blazing electricity raced up her spine and filled her body with raw heat. Attaching her lips to his again and again, she knew in her heart that Finn Hudson was her life. Her savior. Her love.

As he slipped himself inside of her warm and willing body, she threw her head back in pure bliss, wrapping her arms around him as he filled in the missing part of her soul. The part that had been gone since the day she'd left Lima. Now, she felt whole. In that instant, while Finn was inside of her and she was at the mercy of his love, she knew that this was right. This was where she belonged. In Lima, with Finn, in his arms.

They made love, slowly, passionately; the sighs and moans filling the room with a cacophony of pleasure from the young lovers. The past seemed to melt away around them, as they found forgiveness and solace in each others arms. Their futures would be free from guilt, shame and pain. There would be no more lies in the lives of Finn and Rachel.

Their love had purified them.

They were forgiven.

**THE END **

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Salut mes amis!

The next story is already planned out. It's going to be _so good_. I have chills just thinking about it!

Until Then. . .*sings* Don't Stop. . .Reviewing!

Merci Mille Fois

The Minsk


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